Re: Warriors. They are quite good, and one of the most customizable classes available. Detect invis preps are fairly abundant and generally fairly cheap. It almost sounds as though a bit of prep knowledge and some sources of income would set you up to be able to play whatever you'd like. In that regard I would suggest finding a helpful cabal or someone that your character would reasonably ask questions of and get them to show you a couple things. I know for me being a total newb in both prep and income not very long ago it seemed impossible to have certain preps up all the time, but after learning a couple of basic things it's actually not as much work as it seems like at first. Alternatively you could go with a Svirf warrior, they have good stats, inherent stone skin, and inherently detect invis as well. Bash vuln sucks, but your stone skin can mitigate much of that damage.
Re: Paladins. Very strong for solo ranking. Built in prep set that is very forgiving for feeling out what you are able to knock down, as well as maintaining (most don't need to be refreshed all that often). You can heal yourself and have word of recall, which makes you very survivable against anyone that can't curse you. Sealing a PK isn't as easy as with some classes that can command deny your opponent, but their other strengths make them quite potent despite that. Fortress is usually a very helpful cabal with people that will go out of their way to show you where to find gear, sources of income, preps etc. Tribunal seems good for that as well, though I can't speak from personal experience.
Re: Shaman. Also fairly strong and able to solo. Lots of built in preps and maledicts. Now that empowerment isn't mandatory for your supps, much more accessible. Though, it is nice to have empowerment so that your communes are firing at full level and for your shaman paths (the same is true of paladins and their virtues). That said, they aren't necessary to be competitive and nor are they necessary to solo rank. If you plan on soloing a lot, though, I would pick a race that naturally gets lots of mana, as they are a thirsty class in that regard.
Re: Necromancers. I have little to no experience with necros, so I have no clue how viable they are, but if the becoming is too daunting you can now get a freebie to hero with the Wight. You do sacrifice a lot of power from what I understand, but you don't have to go through the elite sounding process of the becoming for a Lich or Mummy.
Take my opinions with a grain of salt, as I am myself am not very experienced, but that's most of what I have to offer after reading your own ideas.
P.S. Bards don't necessarily have to go Herald (in fact most don't), but I haven't seen any rampant mudsexxoring in (or out) of the Inn. I wouldn't let that stop you from trying them out if you think that they are viable for you. From what I have seen they are one of the more versatile classes in the game.
