Heresy! =)
You should give Baldur's Gate (especially BG 2) a chance.
I've played BG1 and never finished it. And it was not the combat that drove me mad, it was the lack of proper information on what to do and where to go. The Journal is a mess and all maps (including cities) start blacked out. I HATE having to run around looking for THAT place loosely mentioned on the Journal.

Baldur's Gate 2 does a very good job telling you where you should be heading and what you should be doing.

Also, BG1 is very, very limited in classes and the level cap is too low (12). It takes AGES to level up and my interest dropped quickly.

BUT... There are mods to play Baldur's Gate 1 with BG2 engine. Much better =)

IWD is BG without pre-generated party members (No Minsc =( ), combat-centered and story light. I love those too. A Tactical-Diablo if you will.

Bottom line: You should give BG another chance. Make yourself play it at least for a few hours and it'll grow on you. I HATE it at first, I swear. Now, it's on my TOP 3 games (Along with the Mass Effect series and the Neverwinter Nights Series (Yeah, I love HotU =) )