I think creating a Berzerker--> Druid is the right way to go- the rage, the armor and weapon choices... it's the best option because it goes a long way toward undoing some of the sucky druid restrictions. Choose the level you dual carefully (duh!), but other than that, you shouldn't have any problems. My only sticking point would be whether or not to dual weild- there are a lot of good weapons out there, and you won't have enough profs to use as many as you want, especially if you go for grand mastery at any point. Choose wisely! Also, as someone said, Ranger--> Clerics are more powerful, but that isn't really the point if you're not interested in playing one.
As for party members... this is going to sound dumb, but choose who you want. I like Jan because he gives you theif levels (I LOVE the class- truely underatted imo), and also Aerie is a good choice because you won't have any cleric abilities either. Aerie is whiny though, and Jan isn't a single-classed spellcaster... so maybe Nalia. Her sidequest annoys me though... so Edwin? His alignment can be difficult though... you see where I'm going with this
- it all comed down to you.
(As an aside, Fable really likes Edwin due to his personality, for what it's worth. If you haven't played through with him and want to be bad, think about it.)
In that same vein, Korgan is by far the best tank- he's beefy, single classed, and has great profs. However, Minsc is loads of fun and Keldorn with Carsomyr is... well... Keldorn with Carsomyr! Mazzy and Valygar aren't tough enough for me. I guess what I would do is choose between Korgan, Minsc, and Keldorn, and then, when I got to TOB pick up Sarevok and IMMEDIATELY dual him to a Theif! That would be great!