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I agree with most of your points, and I would advise anyone who is still relatively new to the game to use NPCs. You're certainly right about the temptation to create custom characters that are more powerful than NPCs tend to be. But after a while you get over that and create characters with stats along the lines of the NPCs; i.e., it is more fun to give them some weakness because it makes the game more challenging and interesting. When they are not the main character I also occasionally give them a special ability via Gatekeeper (just as some NPCs come with an innate special ability--eg, Minsc can Berserk, Safana can Charm Animals, Yeslick can Dispell Magic, Eldoth can create poisoned arrows, etc.).
At various points I've tried most of the NPCs by the way, although never in full campaigns, and evidently not long enough to see much of interactions I've read in Dan Simpson's excellent walkthrough. I went through a phase last summer where I was into expermenting with different classes, taking them online in TCP/IP mode, picking up the NPCs to become acquanited with them, and sometimes being joined by a Gamespyer or two.
At least for now what I cannot agree with is what folks are 'missing out on' by using only NPCs. As I said, you apparently have to wait ages for something to happen even with characters that are scripted to interact. Near as I can tell so far, what you do get by way of NPC interaction is exagerrated and way overvalued. They really don't say much, or interact all that much.
Bottom line: the first several times you play the game, by all means, use NPCs only--and do try to put together parties that will give you the most interaction. However know that many commonly used combinations of NPCs aren't actually giving you all that much interaction.
Case in point: in a standard 'popular' good aligned party, eg,
Imoen
Minsc
Branwen
Kivan
Dynaheir
there isn't going to be any scripted interaction (other than a line or two between Minsc and Dynaheir), and whatever random stuff that will happen between any of them doesn't justify never even trying a custom party (even a mixed custom-NPC such as having three custom characters and three NPCs, etc.)
[ 01-21-2002: Message edited by: Lemernis ]
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