for me a good synergy is FMT, CM, F9(kensai or berseker)->M and blade or, using npcs, charname sorcerer, aerie, jan and haer dalis. all them but the sorcerer can be effective in mlee, can use arcane protections and i have a potential of 4 spells/round before HLA....
So, back to the original question, why would you pick a Bard - other than the Blade - over a Mage/Thief who was better HLA, backstabbing abilities aided by great synergy with arcane spells, equivalent power progression, level 7 arcane spells and beyond and thief's utility... Why would ...