im not too sure if its the strongest method,
imho the arcane mage / thief is FAR more powerful when you get a certain level
the fighters "only" advantages are, that he has
1. better armor
2. better thaco/hp
3. could use better weapons
okay here my conclusen why the mage could/should be stronger
1. better armor -> use spells like spirit armor, you will get AC 1 instead of highend AC -2 where you could not use your thief skills, the enchanted elven chain +5 is AC 1 anyway, so CHECK mage as strong as fighter
2. Better thaco, if you wanted to use Tenser anyway this is just a double check and if you want to go cheese you could cast multible tensers so this is more than a check
3. could use better weapons, with the use of a thief this is untrue cause uai anway but additionally you could not backstab with a cromsyr/staff of ram without a mod if im not mistaken
so i would say
the MAGE / Thief is stronger than the FIGHTER / Thief
the problem with Fighter / Thief / Mage, you will not get an sufficient level with every class, you will lack HLAs and on top of that your mage will lack a lot of spellslots
so
Unbuffed the Fighter comb would maybe be stronger but if you micro the mage a bit and with the right spells the pen is stronger than the sword
