The items that they give you can be useful, but beyond that they are plot items. The major purpose it to determine your interaction between chapters. In chapter 2, you can rejoin with the same henchman, and if you have their item they remember you... if you don't have their item, I don't think they do. I did Sharwyns quest in the first chapter, and got her belt (i'm a paladin, the best class in NWN) so the cha was useful. In chapter two she recognized me, and I got the whole of her story immediately (I was L12 by the end of chapter 1.) I've completed her 2nd quest and got the upgraded belt from her. An extremely useful item as it gives a large cha bonus.

Yeah, the items they give are definitely class oriented, but still useful for more than 1 class. Boddyknock Glinckles ring is 1 of the best, as it has Cha, and regen +1. later it gets upgraded to Cha +3, very handy for Paladins. also, Daelen's amulet is str, and immunity to fear, which paladins get anyway. Tomi's ring is good for rangers, as +3 dex ring in chapter 2 is very nice. Linu's amulet is Dex, and darkvision. also nice for dex characters. Grimgnaws amulet is Con, and eventually immunity to death magic i believe. All of them can become very good items, and it adds some nice flavor to the story =)