Baldur's Gate 2: Looking for new NPCs and Mods

[Calemyr]

A recent thread talking about the epic tale that is Baldur's Gate has inspired me to start up a new run as everybody's favorite Scion of the apocalypse. Before I do, I was hoping to appeal to the collected experience of this board to find a new party for this run, and maybe a few suggestions for good mods I haven't tried.

Here's the ground rules: I'm not playing for difficulty, I'm playing for the story. Since I'll be playing a monk anyway, it doesn't matter how strong or weak my allies are, just how much they contribute to the story (and how much ToB content they have). My characters in the game inevitably turn into good aligned wiseasses who believe that the first victory in any fight is to piss off the enemy before they can draw their weapon.

My usual party is Minsc, Imoen, Jaheira, Kelsey (Mod), and whatever love interest the Scion is going to end up with (unless that's Jaheira, in which case it's a SoA-only mod NPC who can fill the slot until big brother joins up).

Does anyone have any suggestions for NPCs (modded or otherwise) that contribute to the story? Or mods that make the story more interesting?

[Calemyr]

Oh yeah, for the record, here are the modded NPCs I've played so far:
Kelsey: Kelsey kicks ass. As powerful as he might be as a sorcerer, what I like most about him is how active he is in the story. He adds a lot to the story. Besides, Imoen deserves some romance as well.

Keto: An SoA-only mod, but the girl's got style and the relationship she develops with Yoshimo is very interesting. She adds some to the story, but really contributes by building on the generally ignored bounty hunter. Makes a great placeholder for the big S.

Fade: Still an SoA-only mod, Fade is a fun and feisty lass who makes a pretty good ally and love itnerest. She'd be a regular staple if she'd only get some ToB content.

Saerileth: As uncomfortable as a 15 year old love interest is, Saeri is something of a breath of fresh air among her kind for not dumping loads of angst and emotional trauma and baggage on the main character. She's practically unique in that she's more or less got her crap together. In order to not get creeped out by that particular run, I played the Scion as a 16 year old. After all, if you're expecting ages to make plot sense in Baldur's Gate, you're playing the wrong game.

Sheena: This half dragon fighter/mage is an exotic addition that I rather enjoyed. While she's not as trauma-free as Saeri, she bears her past well and doesn't spend every moment whining about how tough her life has been. If only she didn't become a monoform mute in ToB, she'd be one of my regulars.

Nalia: The De'Arnis Romance goes to considerable effort to make the poor little rich girl a deeper and more mature character. It doesn't add much to the story (Nalia's interactions are already in the game), but it provides a surprisingly good excuse to play a character who otherwise amounts to little more than an arrogant clone of Imoen.

Irenicus: A clever ToB-only addition that uses clips from SoA to bring the Shattered One back from the depths, The Longer Road is a very cool idea that is unfortunately extremely hard to get a "happy" ending out of without major hints.

Kiara and Zaiya: These two are an interesting duo that add some unusual dynamics to the party, and not just a wild mage. It's unfortunate that this mod suffers from the same problem as The Longer Road, in that it's a complicated and convoluted path find a satisfying ending.