There have been some good suggestions here. Some things that occurred to me as a read them…
If I go with monk levels, he can't use a sword. Even if he gets the proficiency (vie a fighter level or a feat) he can't flurry with it, or deliver stunning blows. Long story short, I don't want to use monk levels for this build.
If don't want to make a PC with more than one PrC, it's just a personal thing.
I'm not really going for the wall climbing Li Mu Bai thing, more the "stand there and anything that comes near him dies" kind of feel. Sort of like an old Kurasawa movie, the lone swordsman in the big battle, and a ring of dead bad guys around him while he stands calmly.
I like Kensei, I think it fits the PC's flavor. So let's assume I go with either a Paladin 5 / Kensei x or a Cleric 2 / Fighter 4 / Kensei x.
If I do it with cleric, what domains do you think are good? I like the idea of magic as a domain (fits with the Dak'kon feel, and wands of fireball are fun).
So, that leaves me with three questions I'm putting to the group…
A) Which do you think is a stronger character (able to contribute to the group better all around), a Cleric2 / Fighter4/ Kensei X or a Paladin5 / Kensei x ?
B) In the case of the Cleric, what domains would you recommend?
C) As for feats, both need Weapon Focus and Combat Expertise. So that leaves the paladin with 6 more and the cleric with 9. Ideas?
Again, thanks in advance for the help!
-Tatsu