VaultDuke: You'd be a bit limited about when to raise what for a good part of the game, but afterwards you'd be able to fully focus on your desired path, while being equipped enough in other areas, should the game limit your options to progress further using your area of expertise.
This is true. I think most skills (including combat skills) can be raised with one or two skill books - they each add one to your level in that skill, but only if your skill is below a certain level at the time.
So even if you don't want to spoil yourself overly much, I'd recommend checking out what those skill books are, their requirements and approximate locations. Missing out on a free skill point upgrade sucks, min-maxing or not.
There are also a couple of other places where you get a free skill upgrade - and again, you need to be below a certain level to actually get the benefit.
Snowstone: Tending to Tremere for the blood magic aspect and blood steal.
UniversalWolf: Tremere is fun. It should make for an interesting first play, if you choose it.
If you focus on blood magic you should not have too much trouble with combat, even against bosses. You'll need at least passable skill with some kind of backup weapon though, so you don't use up your blood pool too quickly.
Tremere is arguably the most powerful clan by the late-game.
Tremere does kick ass for a number of reasons as others have said: you can steal blood, their blood purge ability affects multiple foes and even works against the supernatural (somewhat), and if you play the plus patch they can also use their dominate in dialogs (albeit not as many as a Ventrue, but enough to be noticeable).
IMO the best blood magic skill (possibly even more useful than blood purge) is the blood shield - it lasts until its destroyed (which can take a while), and IIRC it reduces incoming damage by a percentage, unlike other defensive skills or armour, which reduce damage by a (small) flat amount.
I've definitely found combat noticeably easier as a Tremere than other classes such as Malkavian or Ventrue (though admittedly none of these are specifcally combat-focused)
Note that in the plus patch it's possible to gain an additional (i.e. fourth) special discipline (dependent on choices at a certain point). Although you're limited to levelling it to only half way, getting fortitude as a Tremere makes you much more resilient, therefore helping combat even more.