Trev these were found on a Merc FAQ I was looking at
Q: Can I give my mercenary weapons and armor similar to a pet?
A: No. your mercenary comes equipped with the armor and weapons he needs. Also his armor and weapons will get better as he levels up.
source
http://almarsguides.com/eq/general/mercenaries.cfm
Can I give the mercenary gear?
No, you cannot gear the mercenaries or hand them any thing at all.
Source :
http://www.necrotalk.com/showthread.php?t=9993
So it may be that in ROF giving them equipment is new..But looks like atm you cannot and their gear scales accordingly with preset sets of Gear based on level.