Quote Originally Posted by Kensen View Post
Yep, I agree, if done well it guarantees power balance.
It doesn't guarantee it when you throw in other elements, but it makes it extremely hard to break the balance (whereas without it, it's extremely difficult to even get roughly good balance).

In D&D 3.5 and previous editions, there really hasn't been such balance between those three classes, but have you heard this from a designer or where is it said that monk/wizard/fighter are supposed to be one?
The closest I've seen is that Salvatore, in the cleric quintet, has a character make mention of how monks are particularly good against wizards.

It's mainly just based on looking at the monk's strengths and weaknesses, and seeing that it's weak against fighters and strong (even if without a fix it's not strong enough to overcome the tier difference) against wizards.

Monk, with good saves and mobility, is presumably the "wizard killer" in the triangle?
You forgot to mention the numerous decently strong attacks with low attack rolls (good against low-AC targets like wizards are meant to be), the high touch AC, and SR at high levels. But essentially, yes.