When I ran a mage, I considered the physical and magic shields to be well worth having. I grabbed them as soon as I could. My main spell was the meteorstrike and the freeze (love that freeze). Hellspikes are also good, especially late in the game.
I never did do the pickpocket bit, even with the thief character, so can't help with that. Ditto for the wizard sight spell, which I don't think I ever used.
Nightowl2
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