returning player good duo for a paladin...not a shaman.

Do it. Rogues DPS is average early on. They get backstab at level 10, but that really doesn't come into its own until maybe level 40 or 50.

The worst that can happen is that you'll come into a situation where the rogue is doing too much DPS and evade fails or the rogue otherwise gets too much agro, the paladin heals are not sufficient to keep the rogue alive, and the whole thing falls apart. Paladin healing lags behind cleric healing enough that they really aren't good main healers for a duo/group.

Paladins can sort of solo, rogues not at all really unless you're majorly overgeared for the mobs. So long as you understand your limitations, which are significant, you can play the pally/rogue duo, or any other duo for that matter, and have some success in EQ.

My background: I two-boxed for 8 years, then three-boxed for the last 5 years. My main duos were always healer + tank-type. The third box was for flavor. shm/nec/mag is very powerful, but I like using swords, so I tend to favor the ranger and SK and go with shm/rng/mag or shm/SK/mag. When lazy, I play two boxes and go with, shm + rng/sk/mag/nec/rog/brd/mnk, depending on my mood. I find shm more interesting to play than my druid or cleric, which are on the same account as shm. The shm is not my main - just a very versatile character and class that can operate well with sub-par gear.

I"ve seen very capable paladin/druid combos along with paladin/beastlord.

Either of those teams would work well, adding in dps or healer mercs as needed would make them even stronger.

Overall though, the key is to play whatever classes you both will enjoy. Even "oddball" teams work well if the folks have fun