I play the game differently every time, so I don't have a set preference for tanks. I'm always playing with different parties, so it varies a lot.
The stars on the front line are
PC warrior class Kagain Dorn Shar-Teel Minsc Kivan (although who can resist using him as an archer?)*
and I would rate them pretty much in that order. Not that there is that great a difference in using any of them on the front line, really. They're all going to do a fine job.
Next tier:
Khalid Yeslick Jaheira
These three are nearly in the top tier, but not quite. They're very good, just not quite great. Imo they do stand out from the next tier, however.
And finally:
Montaron Branwen Viconia
And, really, any of these will do a pretty good job as well.
Notably absent from this list: Rasaad. He's enjoyable as a character overall and has fun RP value. I still intend to use him from time to time. But his tankitude is pretty dismal. Unless there is some way I haven't yet figured out to use him, i.e., items to acquire for him, etc...
* It's an interesting departure to tank Kivan. If you pour his profs into Polearms (he starts with ++) and have him wield a halberd, there's a +1 available right away and a +2 by around level 5. Put him in ankheg armor and he's wicked meleer. It's just so hard psychologically to sacrifice his bowmanship.
@Lemernis: It's easy to resist using Kivan as archer. Give him a halberd and use Coran as archer. Unlike Coran, Kivan is also useful in melee. The one thing that was really in the way, psychologically, was his portrait, which screams ARCHER. But if you use an alternative portrait, it's a lot easier to see him as a frontliner.
I sometimes have Branwen tank, but usually not alone. Mostly, it's Kagain or charname along with her. My favorite combination is Kagain and Monty as frontliners. With Monty's high dex and good str/con, you can get away without heavy armor. Naturally, Kagain is a lot better to absorb damage, but Monty is still a good choice. Better than Viconia (who has better things to do than tanking) or Shar-Teel (who is begging to be dualed to thief).
I typically use yeslick, he's a badass with the new belt and Dex gloves. Along with his exceptional saving throws and innate dispel magic, he can keep the party in tip top shape and free from status effects
When the man says he needs an ale, you had better have a damned cold one on hand if you know what's good for you.
That'd be suicide, Kagain would probably kill you on the spot. Evidently you've never worked in a pub ... fair enough, most people haven't.
I expect you're probably thinking of lager, which is commonly served very cold. Ale is never served cold, it's served at slightly below room temperature - any ale drinker would send it back as ruined if you offered it freezing cold like a lager. Freezing any drink numbs the taste buds, which may be a good thing for some of the dreadful lagers pushed by GlobalMegaBeerCorp, but ale-drinkers buy for flavour. This is why there's almost no market for ale in hot climates, where people want something which can be drunk much colder than ale.
Naturally, the PC character makes the best tank as you can specifically build the character for that role - in BG1, a Fighter/Cleric or Ranger/Cleric with DuHM and AoF would probably win!
There's plenty of good NPC tanks, though, Kagain being the most obvious choice due to his high CON. I quickly found out, however, that his low DEX means he gets hit ALOT, and Ogres, Bears, and other hard-hitting enemies simply don't care about his mighty HP. Once you get ahold of the Gauntlets of Dexterity, however, Kagain becomes THE tank!
That's not to say noone else can tank, I am currently using Shar-Teel & Branwen (!). Branwen's gotten alot of lucky hp rolls (mainly 8s one 9!), and apparently only 1 APR doesn't matter quite so much in BG1 as it does in BG2. Besides she can heal herself, and has access to DUHM / AOF.
Shar-Teel is more of a backup-tank due to her cruddy hps. So Branwen gets sent in first while Sharty wacks away with her twohander behind and gets to pick up /chase down stray mobs going for the party.
In my current run, Charname is up front with Minsc beside him, but that'll probably change to Yeslick and Minsc when I reach Yeslick. Minsc is a viable tank with the DEX gauntlets. It's going well so far, but neither of my front-liners is using a shield - Charname is dual-wielding scimitars and Minsc is using his 2H-sword. Maybe later, against tougher enemies, I might have to change style ... but actually I suspect not.
In my previous run, Viconia was tanking (mace and shield), with Dorn beside her to deal damage (2H-sword). Viconia wore the STR belt and Dorn had the DEX gauntlets. Viconia worked well as a tank in spite of low CON, because with AC of -9 (before buffs) most enemies couldn't hit her at all unless they rolled a critical hit, not even boss enemies - for example, I left her going toe-to-toe on her own against Aec'Letec for a few rounds, to keep him occupied while Dorn and the rest of the team mopped up Aec'Letec's acolytes, and she not only survived but actually killed the demon.
In my run before that, I had Charname and Jaheira up front. Jaheira wore both the STR belt and the DEX gauntlets, and used a heavy shield with her scimitar, which made her a very tough tank. (And Charname was a Fighter with natural 19/19/19 after the Tomes, so he didn't need special equipment.)
In original BG1, I found that Ajantis was very good as main tank if you gave him the DEX gauntlets, but I haven't used him yet in BGee. Kagain is a usable substitute for Evil parties, but also needs the DEX gauntlets, and is now a better option in BGee because you can give him the STR belt as well. I remember using Kivan in the front row too, and (as @GoodSteve has already pointed out) he can be very effective in that role.
Khalid is still the second best tank (after Kagain); and best tank before Ajantis for good parties.
His 15 STR can be boosted by gloves/belt. His 16 DEX (17 with book) is great for both armor class AND bow. His natural 17 CON (18 with book) make him very reliable.
Concerning his morale failure, this seems only to happen on low levels, and later, if your really worry about that, a protect fear spell or Cavalier protect fear is quite handy to address this.
If you play Paladin, there is no other choice, he MUST be in your party, since you can boost him like Ajantis with protection from evil and such :-)
I use Khalid as my main tank and Jaheira as my off tank. Minsc is my melee dps either duel wielding maces, or using his two hand sword. Imoen as backstabber to start the fight, then move to range. Dynaheir and myself as casters.
Khalid has always served me well in the role of tank. Branwen also performed admirably well. Jaheira and Yeslick are worth a mention, with a dexterity boost.
Minsc is a full on DPS machine. He will hit often, and he will hit hard. He's great with a two handed sword and a composite longbow. While Khalid is holding back the hoard, Minsc is thinning it out!
Comments
Korax. This is THE tank of BG1.
"Korax thinks you look very tasty today"
The stars on the front line are
PC warrior class
Kagain
Dorn
Shar-Teel
Minsc
Kivan (although who can resist using him as an archer?)*
and I would rate them pretty much in that order. Not that there is that great a difference in using any of them on the front line, really. They're all going to do a fine job.
Next tier:
Khalid
Yeslick
Jaheira
These three are nearly in the top tier, but not quite. They're very good, just not quite great. Imo they do stand out from the next tier, however.
And finally:
Montaron
Branwen
Viconia
And, really, any of these will do a pretty good job as well.
Notably absent from this list: Rasaad. He's enjoyable as a character overall and has fun RP value. I still intend to use him from time to time. But his tankitude is pretty dismal. Unless there is some way I haven't yet figured out to use him, i.e., items to acquire for him, etc...
* It's an interesting departure to tank Kivan. If you pour his profs into Polearms (he starts with ++) and have him wield a halberd, there's a +1 available right away and a +2 by around level 5. Put him in ankheg armor and he's wicked meleer. It's just so hard psychologically to sacrifice his bowmanship.
I sometimes have Branwen tank, but usually not alone. Mostly, it's Kagain or charname along with her. My favorite combination is Kagain and Monty as frontliners. With Monty's high dex and good str/con, you can get away without heavy armor. Naturally, Kagain is a lot better to absorb damage, but Monty is still a good choice. Better than Viconia (who has better things to do than tanking) or Shar-Teel (who is begging to be dualed to thief).
I expect you're probably thinking of lager, which is commonly served very cold. Ale is never served cold, it's served at slightly below room temperature - any ale drinker would send it back as ruined if you offered it freezing cold like a lager. Freezing any drink numbs the taste buds, which may be a good thing for some of the dreadful lagers pushed by GlobalMegaBeerCorp, but ale-drinkers buy for flavour. This is why there's almost no market for ale in hot climates, where people want something which can be drunk much colder than ale.
There's plenty of good NPC tanks, though, Kagain being the most obvious choice due to his high CON. I quickly found out, however, that his low DEX means he gets hit ALOT, and Ogres, Bears, and other hard-hitting enemies simply don't care about his mighty HP.
That's not to say noone else can tank, I am currently using Shar-Teel & Branwen (!). Branwen's gotten alot of lucky hp rolls (mainly 8s one 9!), and apparently only 1 APR doesn't matter quite so much in BG1 as it does in BG2. Besides she can heal herself, and has access to DUHM / AOF.
Shar-Teel is more of a backup-tank due to her cruddy hps. So Branwen gets sent in first while Sharty wacks away with her twohander behind and gets to pick up /chase down stray mobs going for the party.
In my previous run, Viconia was tanking (mace and shield), with Dorn beside her to deal damage (2H-sword). Viconia wore the STR belt and Dorn had the DEX gauntlets. Viconia worked well as a tank in spite of low CON, because with AC of -9 (before buffs) most enemies couldn't hit her at all unless they rolled a critical hit, not even boss enemies - for example, I left her going toe-to-toe on her own against Aec'Letec for a few rounds, to keep him occupied while Dorn and the rest of the team mopped up Aec'Letec's acolytes, and she not only survived but actually killed the demon.
In my run before that, I had Charname and Jaheira up front. Jaheira wore both the STR belt and the DEX gauntlets, and used a heavy shield with her scimitar, which made her a very tough tank. (And Charname was a Fighter with natural 19/19/19 after the Tomes, so he didn't need special equipment.)
In original BG1, I found that Ajantis was very good as main tank if you gave him the DEX gauntlets, but I haven't used him yet in BGee. Kagain is a usable substitute for Evil parties, but also needs the DEX gauntlets, and is now a better option in BGee because you can give him the STR belt as well. I remember using Kivan in the front row too, and (as @GoodSteve has already pointed out) he can be very effective in that role.
His 15 STR can be boosted by gloves/belt.
His 16 DEX (17 with book) is great for both armor class AND bow.
His natural 17 CON (18 with book) make him very reliable.
Concerning his morale failure, this seems only to happen on low levels, and later, if your really worry about that, a protect fear spell or Cavalier protect fear is quite handy to address this.
If you play Paladin, there is no other choice, he MUST be in your party, since you can boost him like Ajantis with protection from evil and such :-)
Minsc is a full on DPS machine. He will hit often, and he will hit hard. He's great with a two handed sword and a composite longbow. While Khalid is holding back the hoard, Minsc is thinning it out!