[Sytze]

To profit the most from the storyline, I would advice to take the first four characters you come across with you. That means Imoen/Yoshimo, Jaheira and Minsc. Whatever character you add next depends completely on your own taste.

Personally, I'm a big fan of Haer'Dalis. Besides being a witty, smart and fun character, he can be a very useful addition to any party, as Von has already mentioned. Unlike Von, however, I really don't like Jan Jansen. I fear I'm one of the few on this board who finds him boring, a bit too longwinded for comfort, and most of all cumbersome. The gnome is widely regarded as one of the funniest NPC's around, though, so you probably need to try him out yourself to find out on which side of fence you stand.

My own roleplaying party would thus consists of Imoen/Yoshimo, Jaheira, Minsc, Aerie and Haer'Dalis. It's a strong, versatile, fun and banter heavy party. Should you play with a Gnome, however, I would forget about either Jaheira or Dalis (because of your romance with Aerie, who is then your only lover possibility) and perhaps add Jan.

Remember, whichever you choose, you can’t go wrong. The game is great with practically any party composition thinkable.

Have fun!