I agreethat there's probably a few too many returning characters, with Sarevok and Viconia in particular feeling very out of place and pointless in the game. However it's worth noting that various human characters who have returned are all alive based on canon established long before Larian's involvement, so it's not strictly Larian's fault for them being alive beyond what makes strict sense. Minsc was turned into a statue and then turned back into a human (or maybe this Minsc was a statue of the original minsc that got turned into a human, so he's not even the original Minsc to begin with, I can't remember). Jaheira's got a long life. I don't know the original games but she's got plenty of time to do lots of things. I don't think her being back is that strange, and frankly I think she's utilized perfectly in the story and plays exactly the role you'd expect of a character like her. I've said elsewhere that she's basically an old mentor figure but since she's introduced past the point in the story where you'd most rely on a mentor, she doesn't need to die to provide character development for our party. I also know that Volo is alive in D&D canon, not sure why. But I do think you could have lost Volo, Sarevok, Viconia and even Minsc without it doing any harm to the game's story.
