Your latest party sounds magic heavy. You've got a mage, a priest and a bishop. You probably don't need all three. You're also light on front line fighters. The fighter is awesome, but you need at least one more front line guy. I don't think of a ranger as a front line fighter, since I have mine use his bow all the time. Your priest can fight, but you don't want to spend his level up points on combat, so he'll be only fairly effective in melee. I'm currently playing with a samurai, but am disappointed in her damage output. I'd recommend a monk, a valkyrie or a lord to replace one of your three spell casters.
I'd also take a rogue over a bard. Rogues are decent front line fighers. With stealth, they have a high AC, comparable with fighers. I pump all my level up points into stealth, locks & traps and pickpocket. I wasn't all that satisfied with my bard. He was male, so I couldn't use stamina amulets, and he only had enough stamina for about two instrument plays per battle. If you do go with a bard, make it a female.
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