Minsc is a hold over from BG I but I can never have a party without him. He is just too funny and he is a great melee guy to boot. Jan is FUNNY! the fact that he is a great thief and a decent spellcaster makes life even more grand.
Anomen(fighter/cleric dual classed) is probably my current favorite for strongest npc. I have played all the way through with him and when he starts gaining levels its amazing how strong he can get. I find Jaheira very annoying but she actually gets pretty strong because high level druids are pretty powerful. Bad thing though is that she levels slowly. Aerie I have used quite a bit and whenever I use her I always swear I never will again. I am not sure why she is such a hard habbit to break. I dislike her slow leveling. Late in the game when she is many levels behind everyone else is when you start to regret having wasted a slot on her (by the end of the game my mages better be casting the mega powerful level 8 spells and such).
Edwin is a sweet mage. Keldorn is a very solid paladin. Considering the strength of 1 of the weapons he can get in the game he becomes a very good choice.
PS: you will notice some good character interaction as the game progreses. I like to have Jan (illusionist thief) in a party with anomen (fighter/cleric) and keldorn (paladin). the clash of personalities is very humorous
