Let's get this suggestion out of the way fast...

Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian! That trades in the fast movement 10 for pounce, the best aternate class feature ever, works for any class. Every melee character ever could be improved with this dip. Besides, Rage might work well for this character. You might also look into other PrC's that advance Wildshape if your DM is going to allow Shifting to qualify. One of my mates is really into Wildshape, I'll ask him about good classes that net additional abilites.