It's the first time I bring Aerie with me through all the game. My main char in my current game is a female fighter so I can't talk about romance stuff, obviously.
All I can say is that she's great until an enemy touches her while she's without stoneskin or some sort of protective spell - if you're not careful, she's dead in five seconds. In my opinion, she is a great asset to parties that already have a main cleric and a main mage - you'll never know when your other priests and mages will be webbed, stunned, confused or even dead; you'll never know how many "cure wounds" spells you'll need to heal your badly wounded fighters; a simple "cure light wounds" and "dispel magic" can make difference between life and death. Combat abilities are not Aerie's strong point, FOR SURE, so I see no point in enhancing them beyond her constitution with the girdle of fortitude and a stoneskin spell. I'd rather keep her away from the front line, stick her with a sling and let her hurl her spells. Some extra sets of magic missiles are always useful. With that said, I believe Aerie is great as a backup healer and mage (and a terrible fighter), but she must be accompanied by other priests and mages who can level up faster than her.
Kitty