You have pinpointed good Abilities.
Agility affects a lot of things - there are 7 skills that depend to a greater or lesser extent on Agility; the next most often used is Perception, (5 skills);
But don't forget Intelligence. It's at the bottom of the list for use in skills (only 1, Diplomacy) BUT!!! - The number of skill points you get to spend each level is dependant on Intellect!
You get a basic 10 skill points, plus Intelligence, so if your Intelligence is 5 you get 15 skill points - and if it's 10, you get 20. However, you will get opportunities to get extra Intellect points during the game, so INT of 7 or 8 is what I go for, personally. I usually go for Magic-based characters.
Perks are very dependant on what you want from your character. Ravager has much more experience than I do - I depend on him a lot! - but some basic, good Perks for your char might be:
Damage Resistance (Requires 6 END, 6 LUCK, Lvl 5)
Educated (6 INT, lvl 5) (you get 2 more skill points per level with this)
Dodger (6 AGI, lvl 5) (helps with Evasion
)
Lightening Rod (Thought:Electrical at 40)
Power from Beyond (5 INT, lvl 5, Demokin & Sylvant only) (You get extra healing rate and 1 extra skill point per level)
Retribution (lvl 8) you do +10% extra Crushing and slashing damage.
Which Race? Um. Depends what you want, really. Highest magic are Sylvants, next are Demokin, last is Feralkin. Pureblood Human is 'average'. Having said that, you can make any character either mainly physical or mainly magical, depending where you spend your attribute points or place your Tag skills.
Your main concern is what Racial Traits you feel happiest with! I like Demokin with Forked Tongue Trait. Or Sylvant with either Polyelemental or Wind Ancestry. Read what the benefits and disadvantages are VERY carefully before you choose.
I have never found a Katana, dai-katana, or any other oriental weapon in the game.