Ranger was my first character on EQ back in 2000-2002. I think I reached level 43 or so. It has a lot of utility, but ultimately was very frustrating. I was "decent in many things, but squishy as a melee fighter, and didn't seem to have a role. For fun I rolled a level 1 Iksar Necro, fell in love with the class, and never looked back. The necro gecko cruised easily to level cap, and had many exciting adventures in his guild.
I started P99 just recently, and am playing an SK. You can certainly solo small groups of blues. There can be downtime regaining health. I suspect this gets better at higher levels with improved taps, regen gear, vampiric effects, etc. I would think Paladin has an edge there because of heals. If you decide SK, consider the innate health regen of an Iksar/Troll for reducing downtime. I'm playing an Ogre and really like SK.
The lack of gate and bind has been strange. But not crippling. With patience I've gotten binds from friendly players. The abundance of druid travel services means SoW isn't hard to get. Tons of friendly players have helped me out. I just have to be careful when running zones, and watch everything. No magic gate button to escape with. Someday when I have better CC and feign death, travel shouldn't be a worry.
As Swish said, various items can ultimately help us teleport around.
I've never played a Paladin, but have read a lot on this site about SK vs. Pally. Seems the advantage for solo arguably goes to SK, due to fear/snare ability, higher dps, and feign death. That being said, there's an entire thread about Pally solo spots. So I'm sure it's doable with either, just a matter of technique and location.
You said you're not necessarily looking for a solo class, so I agree with Swish that anything would work. All the hybrids are great in groups.
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