Skill aside, a good knight needs:
-sufficient AC to not be a mana sponge (not too hard as a plate class). Even beyond the point of "sufficient", you will still see a lot more return on ac than you will on seeking out good stamina items that are otherwise pretty crummy.
-"enough" HP to not be a mana sponge. This is only a factor when you have a cleric complete healing. Stacking stamina really does have pretty low returns prior to raid gear - you give up a lot in pursuing the fairly marginal return stamina actually gives you
-a good 1hander and a good shield. Knight dps is alway bad. Shield AC is always not subject to AC hard and soft caps, and always worth having unless the content is trivial for the group.
-a good base of int/wisdom. Deeper mana pool does not help you regain mana faster but it does let you go longer starting from full, makes it easier to maintain a reserve for emergency casting, and allows you to capitalize more on those moments where you do have extra down time.
-resists
For what it's worth (probably not much), building a paladin for routine content I would prioritize:
Good shield > AC to functional dropoff > raw hp (if it's a good item in other areas) >= Wis=resists > pumping up AC beyond that point of diminishing returns > stamina > all else
On raid targets and especially nasty caster content, bump resists further up
For a shadowknight? Probably less weight to intelligence as the uses for SK mana isn't as group oriented (buffs/heals). Then again, I haven't played a SK on p99.
Str does not affect threat from melee. Weapon ratio and haste are all that matter. A miss generates just as much threat as a hit.
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