My party the first time thru was:

1: Me (undead hunter)
2: Minsc
3: Jahiera
4: Nalia
5: Yoshimo, then later Imoen
6. Valygar

A. Jahiera's higher level druid spells are incredibly usefull, particularly Summon Fire Elemental and Insect Plague. There's nothing like shutting down a tough mage out of action with a swarm of bugs!!! True, there are not as many good weapons for her, but she can be tanked up pretty good. With the +3 club, the +3,4,or 5 sling, and the fortress shield, Jahiera makes a formidable 3rd fighter.

B. I happen to hink that Valygar's backstab and stealth skills are overlooked. To heck with having a thief backstab. Put the Celestial Fury in Valygar's hands and the Cloak of Non-detection on his back and watch him go!!! He's much better than Yoshimo at backstabbing. Yes, Yoshimo may be able to attain a higher multiple, but Valygar's a better fighter and will hit more often on his first swing. And he'll be able to survive the onslaught of P-O'd enemies after he chucks the enemy mage!!!

actually I'm at the 2nd chapter after finishing Umar temple, A'denise Hold and a few other minor quests. My party members are
1)Own(Paladin)
2)Minsc
3)Yoshimo
4)Jaheira
5)Aerie
6)Nalia
However after reading some comments about the betrayal of Yoshimo, I'll like to solicit for some advice to avoid bad investments. Before proceeding further to earn more experience, I'll really like to finalize the configurations.

1) My first question->who'll totally or temporarily dump the party, and should I dump thenm first?

2) Are there any palatable alternatives to Yoshimo's lock/untrap skills? firing off spells to do such stuff will really be a pain in the neck.

3) Finally, I'm thinking of really giving the party a good shake before more quests gets done. I thought that Jaheira scored a little too low on wisdom to get the better spells and to fire them off; plus her *awful* weapon restriction made her quite lacklustre as a warrior. Minsc might also not be as good a warrior as i thought. I don't like evil alignment characters, so that's one constraint. Currently I'm thinking of getting Keldorm for Jaheira and Imoen in place of Yoshimo later, although it'll really be kinda hard. If i drop Minsc too then who'll be the best candidate to replace him?

guys, do give your feedback!

1) You can dump Yoshimo if you want. Sure, he's a great thief with powerful backstabbing and special snares. But honestly, do you actually use these abilities much? I admit that they are useful, and if used strategically, can turn the tide of the battle to your favour, but for shorts fights, it isn't really practical. Moreover, you already have Nalia to play the role of a theif.

2) Jaherira, at least in my party, is a pretty solid character, sure, she can't reach Level 14. But her spells are great! Conjure Fire Elemental, all the curing spells, Insect Plague. Give her a Staff of the Woodlands +4 and she rocks. As for replacing Imoen with Yoshimo. I don't really understand why you'll want to do that. You already have 4 mages in your party (Nalia, Aerie, Jaheira and Imoen, if you get her). So I suggest that you dump Yoshimo for Keldorn or Anomen. If you want clerical spells, get Anomen (he's a pretty decent fighter with a Mace of Disruption +2, too). Or, get the Holy Avenger +5 and get Keldorn. Although Keldorn doesn't have any spells, his "always on" True Seeing and [forgot] abilities should make him a useful addition to your party.

You don't like evil characters? That's a terrible handycap to have, since the three evil characters also happen to be the best in the game. Do yourself a favour and keep Jaheira. I've said it before, I'll say it again; Druid spells are invaluable. Insect swarm - instant mage disabler. Fire elemental - doesn't fight with you like the mage summon, and is an incredible fighter. I put Protection from Magic on and tanked for Kangaxx the Demilich while my Fire Elemental killed him off. Use a druid wisely and they can be more valuable than a mage. Secondly, Minsc is only second to Korgan as a fighter, and he learns a few Priest spells too. Forget Keldorn. His only purpose is to hold the Holy Avenger, and you're a Paladin, so you don't need him at all. If you're dead-set againt evil-aligned NPCs, I'd suggest you take Jaheira, Minsc, Jan and Aerie. Shove whoever else you want in the other spot.

Take Jan, the most under-rated NPC in BG2

I agree with Arachnia - take Jan Jansen, a gnome that you find peddling turnips in the government district. He's a decent thief/mage and he's hilarious!

I'd still like to know who "Golodon" is tho ...
;o)