Best party for balance between roleplaying and powergaming

Hi All,

I wanted to start a thread that might get people talking about what combination of party members they are planning to play when BG:EE comes out.

I need opinions and here are my criteria:

1) Between 4 and 6 party members (I tend to lean more towards 4 though, not sure if its possible to get a balanced party with only 4 members though)
2) Plan to take party through end of ToB (when BG2:EE is released)
3) Want to roleplay, but also want to have most/all bases covered with regards to tactics, balance, etc. (example - I won't go out of my way to pick up NPCs right out the door from Candlekeep, but would prefer to get them earlier rather than later)
4) Want CHARNAME to be on the more powerful side by the end of ToB (I have heard kansai dualled to thief is powerful late game?), this isn't supposed to be a uber soloing character, just one that will have some really cool abilities near the end of the series
5) Probably want to include at least one of the new NPCs being released with BG:EE

* note * I don't necessarily have a problem with weak or under-powered parties near the beginning of the game (as in the entire series), but I do like to see the party have really good balance and higher power near the end of the series.


Discuss...