Fluff vs. Mechanics

[diplomancer]

So, at level 2. Normal point buy, no special rules, just a simple, clean game.

Is 16 AC still too high? Is 15?

17 AC is the expected AC of a dex warrior at level 2 with studded leather and shield. It's also the expected AC of a cleric in a chain shirt with 14 dex and shield.

If druids are, as has been said, the best characters at level 2, surely something below that is reasonable, for balance reasons. So, 16 AC, or 17 if they make a significant investment in dex (which will go down in value as their levels go up and they have access to alternative material medium armor, so it's a reasonable trade-off). Anything above that is a no-no.

The cost of heavy armor has be noted as being put of line for a long time. Not an issue with druid or medium armor. If anything they are probably double of what they should be.
I figured that 75 gold has to cover, living expenses, any tools/ healing kits(druid start with herbalism kit proficiency but not the kit it self), consumables, transportation fees, and who knows what else.

It doesn't have to cover living expenses, including food, unless you want a better than modest lifestyle. A herbalism kit costs 5 gold, druids can buy that with their starting gold from background. Druids have less use of healing kits than most classes due to their high wisdom.

Transportation fees? Are you sending your 1st level characters on long sea voyages and having them pay for it, by any chance? Because they can get a place in a coach for a 100 miles with 3 gp, or in a ship for 10gp. In all my 30 years of playing D&D, I've never seen PCs paying transportation fees for anything at first level, any threat is either close enough to make it unnecessary, or their patron pays for their voyage in the rare case where the threat is too far, and the voyage itself is somehow bound up in the adventure.

Tldr, buying scale mail (or studded leather) at level 2 is expected, not some sort of monty haul campaign.