Evangelist and Knack or Fact [3.5 CDiv]

[Vangor]

We are restarting a campaign to give me an opportunity to play a character rather than continuously DM, and for this I am wanting to pursue the evangelist from Complete Divine beginning with either a bardic knack bard or factotum. Either is a simple way into the prestige class, but I am trying to determine which beginning would create a stronger character. My largest issue is trying to understand if evangelist abilities use bardic music or add uses of bardic music and thus how necessary being a strict bard is.

The description states a bard could use bardic music to inspire hope or dread, but no mention is given explicitly of any abilities using a bardic music, of evangelist requiring the bardic music ability, or of levels in evangelist granting uses of bardic music. The only mention is evangelist levels stacking with bards to determine strength and those abilities being similar. My interpretation about those abilities being similar is with regards to rules on chance of failure in areas of silence and inability to use spells and such applying for evangelist abilities.

Further, for convert the unfaithful, the DC10+cha+class level means the evangelist class level, correct? In which case, stacking for the strength of bardic music abilities means bard levels would stack with evangelist for convert the unfaithful since evangelist abilities are similar to bardic music?

Obviously in the case of either needing to use bardic music daily uses and/or bard stacking with evangelist for convert the unfaithful the bard would be a much stronger starting choice. The synergy is there with charisma anyway, but I am strangely drawn to the idea of the factotum being the obvious advocate for opportunism and being a clear conman.

[Cog]

The description states a bard could use bardic music to inspire hope or dread, but no mention is given explicitly of any abilities using a bardic music, of evangelist requiring the bardic music ability, or of levels in evangelist granting uses of bardic music. The only mention is evangelist levels stacking with bards to determine strength and those abilities being similar. My interpretation about those abilities being similar is with regards to rules on chance of failure in areas of silence and inability to use spells and such applying for evangelist abilities.
This sounds correct to me.

Further, for convert the unfaithful, the DC10+cha+class level means the evangelist class level, correct? In which case, stacking for the strength of bardic music abilities means bard levels would stack with evangelist for convert the unfaithful since evangelist abilities are similar to bardic music?
No. Levels stack for the strength of Bard music, which Convert the Faithful is not.

Obviously in the case of either needing to use bardic music daily uses and/or bard stacking with evangelist for convert the unfaithful the bard would be a much stronger starting choice. The synergy is there with charisma anyway, but I am strangely drawn to the idea of the factotum being the obvious advocate for opportunism and being a clear conman.
The class is enough of a muddle that it's hard to be sure what was intended, but what's written doesn't make a single mention of limits to how often you can use evangelist abilities, nor are they tied to bardic music in any direct way. They seem to be at-will, and even difficulty is unaffected by your Bard level, so you are free to enter with Factotum with nothing lost.