Tack on a shield for the +2 and Bear Totem for all of the damage resistance and you do pretty well at soaking. If I played a more typical character, I'd take an axe and feel like a Viking. With shield master you also beat the shit out of any dex save.

I'm biased because I built my entire character around grappling, but with rage advantage on all Athletics checks, you can knock people prone/grapple them and wreck their action economy very efficiently. It's hard for the DM to argue that you don't look more threatening than the nerds when you're swinging a screaming guy around by his broken leg.

You're never gonna outdamage a caster as any mundane class in a sprint, but aggro can be more about looking threatening and making enemies more scared of getting torn apart right now than getting hit by Jim Wizard's spell next turn.