Don't worry about those Iksar shields. Warriors don't use shields anyway except as novelty. If you pick Warrior, do so for the long haul, because the class doesn't truly come into its own until very high levels. Halfling does get a 5% bonus, by the way. Both Hide and Sneak are useful racial abilities to have, so it isn't a bad choice. Bards are a fine class, but rather maintenance-intensive to play well and have a much higher learning curve than some other classes.
A community member wrote a class selection guide you may find useful; I agree with most of what's in it. It's posted here:
http://wiki.project1999.com/Loraen%2...election_Guide
If I had to pick worst class/race combinations, I'd pick either Erudite Paladin or Wood Elf Ranger. Those are the weakest races for the least popular classes on P1999. Since those races can still do the jobs of their respective classes about as well as anyone else can, it really just highlights how racial choice and starting stats won't make or break a character in the long run.
Danth