Ok accord all your posts have been good points. I,alos,enjoy battle parts of the game,but thats what Misc and Keldorn and Korgan are for,not Jan, Nalia or Areie!
Thats why they mad him 9 str,hes not ment for fighting,hes ment for magic (hence the 17 int.) and thiefing (the 16 dex)
There has to be (if i may quote a passage from the Druids) 'Balance must be kept'. Even in partys.You need magic,healing,fighting and theifing,and it never hurt to have a gnome in the party
Like you said everyone has there oppinons, and every NPC has a use (with the excludng a NPC with the name starting with A,more speiclfy A,n).