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Seriously, the kensai is not that great in my opinion, though he's 1/2 of one of the most "powerful" classes in the game (the kensai/mage), but I wouldn't mix him with a mage. The mage and the fighter are your two damage dealers in the game so it's not worth mixing to me. I'd rather mix with a support class (i.e. thief or cleric). Right now I'm taking an elven fighter/thief through BG1 and then BG2. I'd almost recommend the kensai, but the lack of armor makes me too nervous. Furthermore, other than the minor AC reduction (2 points) you get at character creation, your armor isn't going to get better. Right now, my F/T is carrying ankheg plate for when the battles get hairy, and shadow armor when he's getting all thiefy.
Frankly, I think all the kits suck if you're playing a single classed character. The swashbuckler is a lame F/T wannabe. It won't get extra attacks and it looses it's backstab. Still, it makes a great character to dual to a mage, dualed at about level 10 (even better than the kensai, IMO, because of the AC benefits), though it'll take a bit of time to catch up as a mage. The only fighter kit that I think is even halfway decent is the beserker. The temporary immunity to mind spells is nice, but then again, losing spec. in ranged weapons is a big killer.
In the end, especially with the way high level abilities work in ToB, I think that multiclassed chars get the better deal. My fighter/thief is certainly better than any thief kit, and can still hold his own as a fighter. If only I could figure out a way to mix a greater whirlwind and assasination...that would be nice.
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