A character meant to exemp down.....

I would say either soldier of arachnos would work pretty well. If you went huntsman and skipped mace powers you get nice ranged dmg from heavy burst and the other gun shots and the ability to do extra damage while hidden from bayonet and pummel. The stealth option is great and you get nice debuffage from venom grenade. I love playing this style SoA, it feels like what ar/devices should have been. Oh yeah, and passive buffs for you and your team are nice.
Crabs offer a similar experience, but have a few more options for good set mules in the higher tier powers. And for mid level exemping, the crab can tank really well.
It is hard to find a toon that can be as fun to attack with as well as ad as much to a team as a SoA. And you could even have 3 builds if you wanted. A crab for mid lvl tanking, a huntsman for low level demolition and a 50 build of your choice. I prefer crabberminds at lv 50.
It is also very easy to maximize recharge on either of these builds bc so many defense powers are offered.