Seeking advice for an old game...

[loonygloss]

Do the changes added in TOB impact SoA (ie, should I go out and buy TOB and install the lot together?), or can I wait until after I've finished SoA?

Yes they do. You can access the new area of Watchers Keep in SoA, and the level cap is removed also, allowing you to not waste any XP over the SoA cap. But, those both come into play a fair way through SoA, so you could easily play for a while without ToB.

I figure I may try one of the "new" classes for the protagonist. I'm thoroughly impressed with Sorcerors in IWD2, and heck, maybe a Monk would be a nice change of pace. Any thoughts as to using them in BG2?

IIRC, Sorcerers are interesting, but not all that different from mages, OTOH, the first Char I played in ToB was a monk, and though they are a bit weak to start with, they turn into killing machines as they advance. In ToB, they can have up to 78% intrinsic magic res, and their hands become +4 1d20 weapons (though a very few enemies do need a +5 to hit). They also gain a lot of attacks. If you haven't guessed, I think they're great fun.

3- I have no intention of soloing BG2 (although I enjoy it in the IWD games, go figure), but in the past I've mostly stuck with the Imoen/Khalid/Jaheira/Minsc/Dynaheir default party type (substitute Khalid and Dynaheir for Aerie or Jan and the NPC-of-the-day in BG2). Any suggestions for other NPCs that are especially effective or have interesting chatter and/or dialogue?

Note: everything after here could be considered a spoiler!
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Well, I do like Sarevok, but you'll only find him in ToB. Viconia is also a good cleric, and the romance takes an interesting twist in ToB.

And lastly, any suggestions in general? Stuff like, "don't wake up Kangaxx before you want to fight" and such? Think I did that once, or at least woke up some lich near the beginning of the game. Got my arse handed to me, lol.

Uhmmm... Well, there are a lot of other such battles -

More Spoilers:

The Twisted Rune - go through a doorway in Athakatla(sp?) (The area where they've had the murders) with a rogue stone in you inventory and prepare for a BIG fight (lich, vampire, mage, etc)
Watcher's Keep - Lots of interesting things, but also lots of big fights.
Also, there are a lot of components for Cespenar to forge into powerful weapons - keep an eye out for them, and also, some can be used for one of two different forgings.