I've been thinking of what strategies are optimal in Ultima 3, and there are some rather interesting ideas I've come up with:

1. Elf Paladin. You may be thinking: Why have a Cleric spellcaster in a race that can only get 50 WIS? The answer is as follows: Early game, when WIS is important, race doesn't matter, as it only affects the stat caps. Late game, Cleric spells are considerably less important (just go to Perennian B2 and use the fountains if you need to heal; much faster than repeatedly casting weak healing spells over and over and over again), while you will want 99 DEX so that your attacks don't miss.

2. Druids get 18 INT and 22 WIS at the start. Here's why: When gaining MP, the game checks your current MP against your INT first, gives you 1 MP if MP < INT / 2, then does the same for WIS. This means the following:
20/20: You gain 2 MP if you have 8 or less, 1 if you have 9.
18/22: You gain 2 MP if you have 8 or less, 1 if you have 9 or 10. (In other words, you get 11 MP with this distribution without it affecting your MP recovery.)
22/18: You gain 2 MP if you have 7 or less, 1 if you have 8, 9, or 10.
(Note that Druids should be Fuzzies because 99 INT is good for making Mentar do more damage.)

3. If you want a party where everyone gets Wizard spells (ideal for endgame when ranged weapons don't work at all), and you don't want to duplicate classes, the party will include an Alchemist (unless you want to use a Ranger with her more limited MP, but more useful everywhere *but* the final area).