Well, all's said and done, I'm a bit late, but I'll add my opinion nonetheless.
I support everything Shirou has done up to this point. I would've been a lot more careful, sure, but I like his sheer determination to uphold his ideals to their fullest, no matter the personal cost. I like his unyielding style and his recklessness when his ideals are called forth. His pure devotion to his noble ideals to the point of seemingly stupidity is inspiring and touching.
I cannot judge his character development, cause it's still the 6th episode. But I suppose he will have to make hard choices in the future, only made harder by his inability to stray from his absolute ideals. Admirable but painful. And I wouldn't call Shirou stupid, just an idealist, true idealists can appear stupid. I believe he understands what he's doing, he's thought about it and chose to act the way he did (shielding Saber, not summoning Saber, etc). I wouldn't mind if he sticks to that level of idealism, but his recklessness could cost him his life, obviously. I suppose even a blind idealist like Shirou should take the time to at least study magic and some form of martial combat. Then, by all means, rush to protect everyone. I believe that's the first thing Shirou must understand. While his intentions and his ideals are noble, he needs training. But I don't think he had much time to train. I also believe he really hasn't really grasped how serious the other Masters can be. But I suppose he'll be able to get those messages in the next episodes, or his life will be short.
Having said all the above, even if Shirou, for some reason that escapes me, continues with his current choice of actions, I'll still support him but I want a good explanation of why he keeps surviving, if he is put in extreme danger again. A real person in Shirou's place would have most likely died by now, but I still wouldn't call him stupid. It's no small thing to put your life at risk with no apparent weapons against armed and vicious opponents because you want to protect someone else, against all odds.
What strikes me is his father's words : "Saving one person means not being able to save another", and I'm sure Shirou will be forced to face that eventually, which would be really tragic for such an idealist. All in all, I think we have a lot of Shirou development to see, and I can't understand why he's condemned by so many people. Personally, I like him even as he is now.
I think Shirou and Saber make a nice couple
And don't compare Shirou with Rin (Shuffle). Rin's a huge ass who can't do anything right. Damn, even Takayuki (KGNE) is better than Rin
