[Aerich]

Yes, you can turn undead, but it takes a long while before you can turn anything that's actually dangerous. A maxed-out paladin in the TotL Crypt can destroy mummies and ghosts, and occasionally turn greater mummies and spectral warriors. iirc, Revenants and Crypt things can't be turned. Not sure about blast skeletons, but why would you want to? Better just to pelt it from range - if you turn it and destroy it, it'll likely damage you anyway.

As a pally turns undead like a cleric 3 levels lower, a lvl 27 cleric should be able to do what I've described.

And no, Animate Dead doesn't get any better. It is only a 3rd lvl spell, after all. Only in IWD2 does Animate Dead call anything nastier than skellies and zombies.