Suggestions for a comedy troupe?

GreenWarlock

Longing for the innocent days when I first picked up BG a decade ago, and Minsc was a valued party member rather than an underwhelming warrior. He is one of those characters who now exists only to be discarded after the introductory dungeon, never to be seen again. So now I have not played him for so long, I am wondering about a play through designed to make him fun again. AFAICT, he has two main advantages to play to:
i/ In the right mood, he is comedy gold. The schtick gets old fast, but I have no played it for a decade now.
ii/ He actually comes with a frightening amount of XP if CHARNAME hits a high level, suggesting either a druid or thief for main.

So I am thinking about a comedy play through, predicated on a PC leveling fast to see how close we can come to maxing out xp on a 6-member team. That also means my main will go for one of the more ridiculous/out-there game themes, so I will play entirely to the power play of a swashbuckler dualing to Cleric after hitting Use Any Item, purely to use the Wisdom bonus on the Axe of Hrothgar (if I can reclaim Thief levels before the end of game!)

Second in command, leading from the front, will be the stalwart Minsc.

I figure Jan never shuts up, and should play well against Minsc.

If we are assembling a troupe of fools, we should embrace the idea and have HaerD'alis writing our material.

I suspect we should get some great bickering if we add Edwin(a) to the mix, but will (s)he force a confrontation with anyone else in this party?

And who best to seal the deal in the final slot as a party of misfits? Neera could be fun with wild magic craziness, but will not play nice with Edwin. From my current play through, Hexxat seems the Mary Sue of choice, bantering with everyone (I think) although not sure how deep that goes.

Anomen is wonderfully self-righteous, and may have the right set-up, especially as otherwise I don't have a cleric for most of SoA.

Any other suggestions for who might work? I think a party that bickers, but never splits, would be ideal for this theme. Ultimately, I can compensate for any party by picking a different class for the main PC.

Twani

Minsc/Jan/Haer'Dalis/Edwin will all work together. Neera and Edwin sadly won't play nice with each other, as you noted. Perhaps try a Yoshimo, who is ever willing to play the part of a fool (on the head of a pin, if you'd like). Keep your last slot empty, and come in ToB and pick up another straight man- Sarevok. Minsc, Jan, and Haer'Dalis all seem to like bothering him while he is just astounded by the absolute lunacy of the people he travels with and why he has to deal with this. That's an amusing fate for dear half-brother.

Blackraven

This is @jackjack's domain. You're needed here my friend!

elminster

I'd probably go with Korgan.

Blackraven

Btw part of the comedy can be NPCs pestering each other, so I wouldn't worry too much about how much people like each other. Jan is great, indispensable I'd say in your party. Anomen is hilarious without even knowing it. And if you take Yoshimo along, he pays Anomen a couple of mock compliments, and Anomen swallows them with delight. Korgan as Elminster said, could work. I personally don't like him, very coarse, but many people like him. Haer'Dalis is also good at not taking things too seriously.

jackjack

This group needs more Jester.

GreenWarlock

Jester seems so obvious when you say it like that! In fact, I have never played a PC bard, and a quick-levelling PC has a lot of appeal for this play-through, so I'm very tempted. I would probably ditch HaerD'alis if I am barding it up myself though, leaving a likely party of:

Agents Provocateur:
Minsc
Jan

Straight men:
Anomen
Edwin

That leaves a 5th slot, who ideally would be a trouble-maker that does not quite split the party.
Also, lack of a romance if playing a male, so I may end up with a female PC and sample Anomen's cheesy lines for the first time. If I do take HaerD'alis, does he flirt with female protagonists like he does with Aerie?

If not HaerD'alis, who else might be my perfect 5th wheel?

Twani

Haer'Dalis does not sadly flirt with female protagonists save for on his very first encounter- but, if you're a modder, there's a mod that changes that. http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/984-haerdalis-romance/ - The Haer'Dalis romance, which is beautifully written (...much better then the Anomen romance), and allows you all sorts of choices and dramas.

Trouble-makers... Yoshimo pokes both Anomen and Edwin. Cernd, of all people, teases Edwina horribly (but it's hilarious, coming from the usually 'I do nothing but recite metaphors' Cernd). And sadly, that's all I can come up with.

Straight-men are easier: Valygar ("YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER?") and Sarevok. Definitely those two.

jackjack

As has been mentioned, Korgan would work, and you can always replace him with Sarevok. Neera could also, as Wild Magic can lead to no end of hilarity.
As someone who plays as a Jester all too often, I submit for your approval the wonderful mod that is Rogue Rebalancing. It will allow your Charname to reach level 8 spells, three pips in dual-wielding, introduces an enhanced "Jester's song" HLA, and gives you:
Fool's Luck - adds a +1 bonus to the Jester's base Armor Class, a +1 bonus to all of his saving throws and a +5% bonus to his pickpocket skill checks.
Chaotic Mind - Due to their unique mindset, Jesters are innately immune to the effects of spells, items and abilities that cause Confusion.
You won't regret it.