Just rolled up an "angelic" human binder....
I got a 17, 14, 14, 12, 10, 8.
The party will be 2 PCs that are twins of a peculiar celestial heritage....we had a choice of some special abilities and both of us took Powerful Build and an additional +2 to a stat. The other player is a duskblade with an 18 Int, so he'll probably be the acrobat and knowledgey guy.
So far, my human binder has
14 Str +2
12 Dex +1
19 Con +4
10 Int --
8 Wis -1
16 Cha +3
We're starting at 3rd level, so I get 3 feats. I plan using a Large longspear and spiked gauntlets, so my feat choices are:
1. Combat Reflexes
1. Expel Vestige (human bonus feat)
3. Improved Binding
So I'll have access to 3rd level vestiges at 3rd level.
I plan on maxing out Intimidate, and some of the other social skills I'll at least dabble in. I'll probably also put some ranks in at least 1 Knowledge.
I'm hoping the DM will let us use Traits.
Any advice on future feat and skill choices? What's the most effective "default" vestige?
I switched my Int and Wis around, maxed out ranks in Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Use Magic Device, and just dabbled in everything else.
Anyone know the "best" 1st-3rd level vestige?
For gear I got a +1 chain shirt, a cloak of resistance +1, and half a wand of cure light wounds.
Hmm...pick a 'best' vestige? Thats a tough one. So...to totally ignore your question, I instead shall compile a list of some benefits!
1) Amon
A decent vestige that can be damned helpful once you are a few levels into the class, especially the Fire Breath. Until then, this one isn't all that helpful unless you need Darkvision.
2) Andromalius
Probably shouldn't bother.
3) Aym
The Halo of Fire can be devastating against large amounts of weaker foes, but it depends on what you are up against.
4) Dahlver-Nar
I've found him useful on occasion..but it really depends on how the rolls go. Unless you are dealing with Wisdom eating Mythos creatures...then, by all means.
More shortly
5) Focalor
One of my favorite low level Vestiges. Water Breathing can always be useful and being able to call down lightning strikes each round can really make your binder effective offensively.
6) Haagenti
Not too useful. Being able to use heavy axes and shield can be good for some situations though. Very circumstantial.
7) Karsus
Dispel Magic (Cool!) ...by touch (not so cool).
8) Leraje
Very helpful if you need to sneak about or have a situation where you need some long range weaponry, otherwise kinda useless.
9) Malphas
This one is pretty decent. Most of the benefits don't get great until far higher levels though. Being able to become invisible is nice, but it takes a Full-Round action and only lasts a few rounds at low levels. I found being able to see around corners and on top of buildings very very useful in some instances though.
10) Naberius
Meh. Nice to be able to heal ability damage though.
11) Paimon
A vestige with a slew of useful abilities, even at low levels. That Dex boost is really nice too. Definitely one I recommend.
12) Ronove
Meh (at least in my experience).
13) Savnok
Looks interesting at first glance...but his abilities don't really shine until later levels. I'd probably wait unless a situation warrants the heavy armor.
Thats it!
It may bear mentioning that there were a few additional Vestiges in one or another Dragon or Dungeon magazine from way back. One of them was Primus (3rd level I think), though I cannot remember his abilities. Sadly I can't find the article at the moment. If I do I'll post my recommendations on those.
Thanks for the feedback!
Another thing I forgot to mention is the DM is giving us a free magic item that will grow with us. Mine is a longspear, so I'll be attacking from reach, with spiked gauntlets for up-close work. And with the powerful build bit, my + longspear is doing 2d6+4.
I'm leaning towards Focalar (3d6/round every round is pretty good at 3rd level, even with a DC 15 Reflex save for half), Amon (breath weapon + non-reach horns + darkvision), Ronove (Powerful Build monk damage is pretty nasty, and I like the boost to speed), Dahler-nav (I have a 19 Con, so would get +2 AC from him, plus I plan on getting a vicious longspear, so with Shield Self, I'll be able to reduce that damage, and eventually, combined with Buer, have enough fast healing to counter the rest of it!). Malphas looks good too, and Naberius will be good if we need access to skills we don't normally have.
EDIT:
I'm thinking at higher levels, the binder can be the master of AC, especially when combining Savnok and Dahler-nav and either Paimon for +4 Dex or Haagenti for Shield proficiency, and the Pact Augmentation for insight to AC.