You are right that skills do not rely on weapon speed. The higher the damage obviously the higher damage the skill. Also the level of the skill has a big impact. I try to balance damage and speed because there will be some times where you may not have access to all of your skills. Such as dungeons. In those cases you will need speed. I use Feysteel Ornate Spears and I average around 50dps at level 28 which is pretty good from what I have seen others at. Wizards blow me away still but its all good. I would suggest other weapons if you want just let me know what level you are at.
Lind