Welcome aboard. Fane has the best story IMHO and is stronger because of his unique abilities. Healing has never been an issue for me, not even slightly. Ifan is generic, you're correct. I first played with a custom human and you do get a very handy unique spell but I really missed the origin stories so I restarted as Fane.
Bottom line: Fane is easy to play both for utility and damage, plus he has a special relationship to the main story. I used to like Ifan as a companion because he's loyal and trouble free but he's pretty boring. I now prefer Lohse, Sebille, and Beast but that's a personal opinion sort of thing. For mechanics, Sebille is the most adaptable because of her unique racial powers and she has a pretty good story too.
