Well, Paladins still gain all the fixes that the other hybrids get. That's more than just defensive stats. They also get switched to an improved combat table, gain hybrid spellcasting haste for their few offensive spells, and have the experience penalty removed. New spells are added and a few are fairly nice. They're very welcome improvements if you play the class and I plan on gaining a few more levels on my Paladin at that time.
It's true that stuns and lulls work on lower-level creatures, but given how reliant the Paladin is on those spells (stuns especially) it really sucks when they don't work on important stuff. This becomes an even greater problem in Velious owing to all the giants and such running around and well as the generally higher resistances of many creatures. There's also relatively little undead in Velious, depriving the Paladin of getting much use out of undead-specific spells. Of course Kunark content remains available and the improvements make the Paladin a lot more effective there.
Taken as a whole I'd say the Paladin is better off during Velious than Kunark, as all the hybrids are. Anyone who plays a hybrid should look forward to that expansion.
Danth
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