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Just for fun ;)
#3: Vigilante
You can assume two roles as a character. You can technically play as an Aristocrat, which is a NPC-only class. The archetypes offer a LOT of diversity without sacrificing the core aspect of the class. Why? Because all archetypes only change the vigilante identity, not the social one. I feel that for someone who wants to play whatever he wants as a class, but doesn't want to tone down the roleplay aspect of his character, the vigilante is perfect.
#2: Occultist
This used to be the spot for the magus :P You gain many proficiencies, powers keyed to items and psychic spells, which 1) aren't affect by an armor's arcane spell failure percentage and 2) duplicate many actual arcane spells. I also love the relic hunter aspect of the class, which is something that is often seen in games, wandering and exploring dungeons to find interesting treasures. While I get that it's not really a fighter/wizard class nor a replacement to the magus (an occultist sadly cannot spellstrike someone with focus powers), it is a great alternative.
#1: Kineticist
This one really hit home for me. The fact that the Kineticist has an at-will primary ability really elevates a lot of troubles with micromanagement and the "saving it for later" syndrome. While the Burn is a major weakness, it's not mandatory; you don't have to Burn every time you use a Kinetic Blast, as it's all up to you. Plus, Gather Power solves this issue. Finally, the warlock had a similar mecanic in D&D 3.5 which we didn't get until now with the Kineticist, not to mention that it offers a lot of customization vis the elements and playstyle.
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1. Magus. A huge toolbox makes this class really fun to approach
2. Barbarian. SPELL SUNDER
3. Witchguard/Skirmisher Ranger. I like to pretend to be good at battlefield control.
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1. Cleric. Flexibility, roleplaying opportunities, powerful support for the party.
2. Paladin. Melee power, roleplaying opportunities, great saves.
3. Wizard. Flexibility, intelligence, lots and lots of spells.
1. Paladin.
2. Cleric.
3. Sorcerer.
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1. Ranger, always loved the woodsman fill of the class, and was the first class I played back in 2nd edition AD&D.
2. Magus, spells and swords.
3. Alchemist, just has a unique fill that I love.
Bard, Druid, Summoner.
Occultist, Magus, and Investigator.
1) wizard
2) ninja
3) sorcerer
1.Arcanist
2. Alchemists
3. Mesmerist
1.) Arcanist
2.) Shaman
3.) Cleric
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The most truthful answer to this question, for me, would just be "Bard" ad infinitum, but in the interests of keeping things a bit more interesting:
1. Bard. Always and forever, any Edition.
2. Inquisitor. The only class I've ever even approached speculating loving as much as the Bard.
3. Ranger. 3.5ed put this class on the path to becoming the full BaB option that most closely fits my play style and Pathfinder took it the rest of the way, especially with the plethora of wonderful archetypes.
For fun?
1) Classic Summoner
2) Sorc
...
3) Spiritualist
Ranger (Skirmisher Archetype in particular), Alchemist (Alchemical Sapper or Cryptbreaker- I dislike Mutagen intensely), Cleric.
Honorable mention: Slayer, Warpriest
-Summoner (the 1st one, not the Unleashed)
-Magus
-Oracle (Because druid is a prepared caster)
1. Alchemist - I'll be playing my *third* back-to-back alchemist when our current campaign ends and we start on our next adventure path, and all three are so completely different that they may as well be different character classes. (And I must give a nod to N.Jolly, above - his incredible alchemist guide did quite a lot of the heavy lifting in helping me wrap my head around the class.)
2. Cleric - Like the Alchemist, the Cleric has so much versatility and customization, as well as stepping in to provide incredible party support, which I love.
3. Bard - You may be spotting a trend, but I love support classes. Bard has long been my favorite until it was supplanted by the alchemist.
Honorable Mention: Oradin - Though I'm not particularly drawn to either class on their own, the way that Paladin and Oracle zip together to create their own "class" with its own distinct playstyle just blows me away, and its specific playstyle has massive appeal to me. As its own "class", Oradin takes the place of Cleric, above.
(I second N. Jolly's guide to the Alchemists. Thanks)
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1)Inquisitor. I love the flavor, and the fact that it can do a little of everything you want in melee, such as buff, tank, and damage, as well as cover 2-3 roles out of combat. It is a well-rounded class that works in a lot of situations but isn't seen as OP.
2)Oracle. Super customizable, with the ability to make dozens of characters each with radically different themes and roles. Also I normally like giving my full casters a handicap, and this class comes with one inherently, which can provide a fee bemefits.
3)Druid. It lets me cover so much with one character. I can show up with the tank, blaster, controller, and summoner all in the same day.
Honorable Mention: Thassilonian Specialist Wizard (sloth). I didn't want to include archetypes and I am not a fan of base wizard, but I love the flavor of sin magic, like the extra spell/day and prefer conjuration spells over many schools. The fact that I lose 2 schools of magic is also great because I enjoy having some limitations on more powerful classes.
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Well, I haven't gotten into a PbP of Pathfinder yet, so I'll have to split this:
AD&D (yes, 1st Edition) actual characters:
1. Magic-User (that was what stood for Wizard then)
2. Cleric
3. Thief (that was what stood for Rogue then)
Pathfinder concepts (I actually counted this up on my Messageboards page, although that's slightly out of date, so what I put here will be somewhat at discrepancy with it -- need to get a new computer so that editing a page is not such a pain . . .):
1. Oracle (you can make so many different character concepts with this)
2. Witch (Hexes so that you don't run out of gas)
3. Bard (yes, I like support too)
For when I update this, and if I could combine concepts that use differently named classes to get the same result):
1. Oracle (still wins as above)
2. Reach arcane caster -- various (mostly) multiclassing combinations (a challenge: how do you do awesome stuff, yet still be respectable in a close up fight?)
3. Witch (Hexes still good as noted above, but note that the recent lamentable Scarred Witch Doctor errata killed some good concepts, even though it made otherwise run-of-the-mill Half-Orc Scarred Witch Doctors even more powerful -- did the designers forget that Half-Orcs can put their +2 anywhere?
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#3: Warpriest
So much versatility, both in mechanics and RP. And swift action buffs are niiiiice. So is being able to pick your default weapon without any concern over how big its dice are.
#2: Inquisitor
The only good divine skillmonkey class, and with lots of other fun tricks. And suddenly pulling out bane and judgments when the rest of the party got used to you being non-combat-oriented never gets old.
#1: Paladin
Yeah, okay, it's my favorite just for the flavor. I've always wanted a game that made complex moral decisions be actually relevant to gameplay, and Pathfinder's all that's filled that criteria so far.
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Inquisitor
Barbarian
Bard
special mention to alchemist and witch
1: Alchemist. Warlock was my favorite class in 3.5, and (at the time) I felt like this was the closest I was getting to that. It also kind of felt to me like a bastard child of Warlock and Artificer (which was my favorite class I never played.) This then leads me to....
2: Kineticist. So, I get my warlock, with a kicker. Another shout out to N. Jolly, whose KoP books have made this class a good time. Planning on building some nonsense out of this eventually.
3: Magus. I've made a lot of goofy homebrew Archetypes for this class, so it holds a place in my heart muscle.
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I think my answer in no particular order:
Barbarian - Supserstitous Beast Totem Coem and Get Me Build (I don't play this anymore because it's too good)
Bloodrager - Arcane Bloodline with a focus on causes shaken, sickened, and Riving Strike to debuff the crap out of enemies
Inquisitor - Archer Inquisitor...its awesome
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Honorable mention to the inquisitor, because I do love bane on everything and general flexibility
#3. Paladin - Because I love diploming everything I can, smiting everything I cannot, and being immune to everything
#2. Rogue - I know they aren't mechanically the best, but I still find them super fun to play, especially the unchained version
#1. Empiricist Investigator - Because if my skills aren't making the GM cry, at least a little on the inside, I'm not trying hard enough
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1.Inquisitor
2.Oracle
3.Bloodrager
1)Kineticist- A class that focuses on spell powers and supernatural abilities and has a elemental theme.
2)Sorcerer- A cha based spontaneous arcane caster with cool bloodline powers and interesting power origins.
3)Oracle- A cha based spontaneous divine caster with a curse and a cool selection of abilities based a theme.
1. Bard - jack of all trades done (mostly) right. You can be almost anything with a bard, and you can help other people do better too!
2. Alchemist - another versatile caster, this time with a whiff of pseudoscience. I like the extracts, I like the mutagen, and I can choose between bombs and being able to precisely dismember an enemy. Sweet. I am also particularly fond of the Master Chymist, which helps.
3. Ranger - I have had a soft spot for this class for a while, and it works pretty well in Pathfinder
Honorary mentions: Inquisitor, Oracle.
1.Paladin - Someone who stands for the values of good at all times, good bonuses and melee combat.
2.Wizard - Because spellcasting is awesome
3.Rouge - Because I really want that guy's stuff.
Wizard
Brawler
Oracle
Would include Magus, but it always makes me feel a bit dirty.
Investigator
Inquisitor
Mesmerist
6th level casting is fun.
1. Investigator: Inspiration is just the best mechanic and these guys are just amazing at supporting the group with skills and even with infusions. Investigator Talents and some of the best bits of the alchemist to boot!
2. Witch: Debuffing is fun and the witch can do it all day. A bit stumped against non human enemies though...
3. Ninja: Really great at sneaky stabbing when that's what you want to do.
Cleric: A lot of choices between deities and domains
Paladin: The powers, the immunities, using them all to destroy evil
Warpriest: A little bit o' cleric and little bit o' fighter
Wizard. I like to play smart characters (no comment on whether I am actually smart), and the class is flexible.
Fighter. My recent characters have been fighters, and they are more flexible than the used to be. Hitting things is fun, too.
Occultist. Never had the chance to play this, but it seems interesting.
I suck at playing spontaneous casters, since I can never decide what spells to take, but I have been eyeing the spiritualist with interest for roleplaying reasons. I've also started warming for the ACG classes, especially slayer (I'm an old rogue fan) and hunter. Whenever I look at bard or alchemist, my brain locks; there are too many nice archetypes to decide.
Barbarians or druids are out of the question. Completely burned out on them after player shenanigans. :-p
Hunter - teamwork feats and a ready made ally with those feats
Inquisitor - solo tactics
Fighter - fighters tactics (solo tactics for fighters)
Why yes I do like teamwork feats, why do you ask?
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1: Wizard
2: Bard
3: Slayer
Though, you could just as easily replace wizard with arcanist, psychic, witch or sage sorcerer. Bard with inquisitor, investigator, or occultist. And slayer with ranger or hunter. Really, anything that can perform it's duty in combat, and have a ton of skills for outside of combat is a real winner to me.
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1-Inquisitor
2-Witch
3-Bard
Oracle x3
I an both dull, and can make it what I like!
Design Manager
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Paizo only-
1) Hunter- Probably the best designed class pet class Paizo has released, fun, well balanced, and effective.
2) Vigilante- This is how classes should be built. Social and combat tools drawing from separate sources, lots of effective builds available in the core class chassis, enough variables that you can play that one class using that one book and the CRB to make a dozen different characters without ever playing the same character twice.
3) Spiritualist- My number three was a hard pick, but I tend to really like pet classes, especially ones that don't necessarily have to be played as pet classes. The Spiritualist is a really flexible class that can cover a ton of different character types and party roles, is well balanced internally and externally, has tons of replay value, and has interesting base fluff, so I give it the last spot in the top 3.
From all Pathfinder classes including core and 3pp-
1) Guru- Dreamscarred's Guru is fun, flexible, and has enough moving parts to keep my interest without being too fiddly. I've used it to build everything from R.A. Salvatore's Highwayman to a bipedal elephant luchador.
2) Vanguard- Ascension Games' Vanguard is a 2/3 caster who can wear armor, use firearms, and has a pet golem. It's awesome, and very well balanced.
3) Psychic Warrior- My number three was once again a very difficult choice. With contenders like the Daevic, Battle Lord, Monster Trainer, and the Nightblade, it wasn't an easy pick, but I think the Psychic Warrior from Dreamscarred Press' Ultimate Psionics brings the best combination of power, balance, versatility, replayability, and sheer cool factor, earning it a top 3 spot.