[Aerich]

Note that the Dex bonus to Thaco is only for ranged weapons.

A mc F/C or R/C is a lot less work than messing around with the dc, and makes the party stronger at all points of the game, in contrast to the up-and-down effect of the dc.

I believe you'd come around to my way of thinking, Nick, if you'd play on insane for a while. Access to cleric spells throughout the game is of much more value overall than a better fighter. It's especially important in the early game. Second, the mc isn't a bad fighter at all, and is a better fighter at the dc's changeover point. Moreover, by playing on harder levels, you reduce the length of time spent at plateaus between levels.

I take your point about wanting two clerics in the late stages of the game, but why not just take two cleric multiclasses and have two clerics throughout the entire game? With the ever-present bard and all the spell buffs you have available, the multiclasses don't actually lose a lot of mulching power.