Head Start: You are actually out of your mind if you think +5 starting AP is anywhere near balanced.
As an example: Quickdraw. Widely considered to be one of the best talents in the game, and with good reason. What this does is that it essentially grants you 4AP (less than 5), but sets requirements for how to get it (you need to spend 12AP on normal attacks -- not special arrows, not skills, just normal attacks), then specifies how you can spend that extra 4AP -- again, not special arrows or skills, just normal attacks. And it's almost impossible to unlock the first turn of combat. Even with a mountainous prereq of Marksman 5, Quickdraw would be hideously underpowered compared to a +5 starting AP talent which you can use on anything.
+1 starting, straight-up, would be balanced for a talent with no prereq. +3 starting and -1 recovery would also be fairly balanced, since +2 starting and -1 recovery somewhat nullify each other, then another +1 starting to justify the cost of spending a talent.
Iron Fist: I didn't know that, because the only folks I've punched are random Cyseal inhabitants, usually while grossly overleveled. Still, I don't think that talent is the way to encourage unarmed fighting. Frankly, any fighting style which doesn't get offense rating scaling isn't going to be viable, no matter what else you do.
Warlock: Man-at-Arms and spells are not an underpowered hybrid class at all. I'm actually using one in my current playthrough. Much more detail in the spoiler.
The two fundamentals of the class, if you ask me, are:
1. Explode. We all know Str-based characters don't have trouble maxing out elemental resistances (Weather the Storm, plate armour), even healing from elemental damage. So this Pyrotechnic spell becomes a lot more appealing. Just make sure you're clear of non-Str-based party members before activating. It's honestly to the point where I consider Pyrotechnic 3 to be a must-have for the character type.
2. Shields. For a pure Strength character, it's almost impossible to overlook two-handed swords and their glorious power. However, as a caster you'll be doing a decent amount of damage which isn't weapon-dependent, so you don't need to depend on your weapon as much for damage. Shields offer some survivability which costs Ability Points (hopefully not spread then) instead of Attribute Points (certain to be spread thin as a hybrid), and you don't really need to boost your weapon damage with Ability points, just use a nice Blacksmith 5 self-made axe (so your Battering Ram still does some damage) and focus on the shield, which provides defense regardless of whether you're in caster mode or not.
If anything, Str/Int is the hybrid class with the most independent identity. Instead of doing both the Str thing and the Int thing, it's more about doing things neither pure Str or pure Int can do well, allowing the class to carve out a really nice niche for itself. In my opinion, this makes it the strongest hybrid, not the weakest.
