I totally agree with OP on this one, I’m finding the combat very frustrating and not very fun.
I see a lot of people putting out the advice: backstab, high-ground, scrolls! ...but this is supposed to be a ROLE-PLAYING game. I don’t want to have to resort to playing all of my characters like a ranged-rogue. I want to use all of my characters unique spells and skills!
Well, I am currently playing a druid, and she has been using shapeshifting, spells and melee in various encounters. Out of this, the only thing she isn't that good is melee, because her stat distribution is fitting a spellcaster more, and also because I'm not very good with melee classes in general. A bit ironic, because a lot of time in cRPGs people recommend fighters as easy to play, but it isn't so for me.
So far my experience with the druid that they are very flexible and open up a lot of possibilities for the party. Of course what works depends on the companions, not only their strengths, but also weaknesses. For example, my current party has two characters vulnerable to sleep, so they occassionaly get knocked out. And since one of them is Laezel, that can pose some problems in melee. Though the sleeping animation is kind of cute, lol.
That's not really related to this thread but Shillelagh allow you to use weapons with your wisdom (shillelagh or flame blade - 1H + shield or dualwield). Druids are really not so bad in melee.
