TubercularOx

I definitely do not speak from experience; I too am a new player, but I had to make the same decision and this is my analysis, based on what I've read and my examination of the power sets.

Necro and Ninja are melee. I wanted melee minions, so those are the two I looked at. Necros are resistance based, Ninja are defense/hide based.

I'm playing Necromancer and I'm pretty happy so far, because I like to stand at the outskirts of a battle and assist my minions. I leave bodyguard mode on for the alpha, then start ordering attacks on one target at a time. Because I've already got my target of choice highlighted, it's just one button push to mark him for taking down. I don't see how this qualifies as micromanagement.

If you turn your squad to bodyguard mode, Jounin hide and Smoke Flash should help you keep the aggro on yourself so the damage is split between everybody, which means not only do you get a large effective resistance bonus, but everyone's regeneration rate is added together, so you heal faster, too.

But if you're going to do the tanking for your squad, bots is the way to go. I don't know why but several dozen posters agree. Full bodyguard mode and keeping the aggro on yourself means the damage is evenly spread among all your squad, and, since everyone is suggesting Dark, the group heal is very effective since your squad will usually be equally hurt, you shouldn't be "wasting" heal on untouched minions. Focus your pool powers on personal defense and holding aggro, and you can be out on the pointy end while your firing squad assists.

I didn't look at thugs or mercs because I simply did not want to play them.

This is simultaneously advice and question. Anyone can feel free to correct me or add to what I say; it'll be good for us both.

Thanks for all the opinions. Given that I'm not hearing a huge demand for recall friend, I've decided to go with... Leaping!

A surprise since I didn't mention it, but it seems to be the compromise power for speed, vertical, and minion compatibility. They all get Super Leap anyways, so I know if I go vertical my minions will be able to follow me.

@LtZerge: I can't stop staring at your avatar, what's that from?

Also, still soliciting opinions.

What about the illusion control powers Superior Invisibility and/or Group Invisibility? I probably should've mentioned those up front. Are they "stealth" powers? Their names confuse me.

Actually, this question applies to any AoE toggle, but the above is my main concern and makes for a short subject.

The MM forum says if you go invisible, your pets won't benefit from either supremacy or leadership toggles. Does this apply to players, too? If I have an AoE buff toggle on, and happen to be invisible, will it all be for naught? What about AoE debuffs, invisibility, and critters?

A few guides agree that Teleport is useful because Recall Friend lets you unstick pets when they get lost, but the sheer convenience of flight just calls out to me. Plus, Hover giving me a bird's eye view of the battle tempts. How often do pets get stuck? How much am I going to be using Recall Friend to save my pets? Feel free to pitch speed or leaping too.

This is my first villain, and my only other character is only a few levels above her. He's illusion controller, so superior invis + recall friend was the no brainer decision.