Now, I don't know if I agree with fighters being
boring per se...I suppose anybody would be if all they did was stand there and hack 'n' slash. The challenge is to push yourself to do a little more--forget the sword and pick up a battle ax, a bow, anything not typically thought of as straight fighter weaponry and specialize! I mean, just because you're a tank doesn't mean you must think square!
And paladins are, IMO, a waste of my time. Sure, they have good abilities (lay on hands, turn undead...), but they must maintain lawful goody-goody two-shoes status. Yuck! That goes against my personal tendencies!
Fighter/thief is an awesome combo, tho. My gnomish gal is absolutely kick ass *and* sneaky (
I mean stealthy 
Of course, since I am a Ranger, these opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the establishment at large....