I tried playing a paladin in EA. I usually take roleplaying very seriously, even in computer games, because it is half the fun, and playing a paladin was no exception. However, I still ended up being an oath breaker without knowing what I did wrong. I suspect it was promising to go after the kidnapped duke then following some other quests, but in EA you can't follow the trail towards Baldurs Gate because you can't access the area??? Anyways, this has caused me to exclude paladin from my list of possible choices for a class. I don't want to play a fallen paladin, there's no fun in that. It is actually a pity because I do like the paladin class. However with all the shady personalities in the party perhaps paladin would be difficult to play anyways.
Also I don't understand the idea of calling a lawful good paladin lawful stupid, there's nothing stupid about making a moral choice in life. It still leaves options. But then again I never understood the fascination in playing evil which seems to be widespread. I guess I am a 'kill the dragon, save the princess' kind of guy. And with a decent IQ I may add
