I agree that Blood Ember gauntlets are well worth having. Blood Ember Vambraces also have fair use during the Kunark period. Effectively they either allow the user to keep Vampiric Embrace up when he otherwise wouldn't, or at least saves the user a spell slot given the short duration of that spell. I use them constantly. With an upgrade to this spell during Velious, the arms will lose much of their worth then.
The Dark Elf/Human/Erudite Shadow Knights--particularly the Humans and Erudites--do offer a fair advantage for a certain sort of player. Given their faster leveling rate and better starting faction (in the case of the latter two), they represent a good choice for casual players who may not even reach the level cap. A couple extra levels will improve a character's combat performance more than stats or racial abilities. While unrelated to the original poster (who was only interested in Ogre, Troll, or Iksar) such advantages may be of use to some other folks.
My own Shadow Knight is a Human and I remain content with that choice. Were I an Ogre or Troll I wouldn't even be 60 yet and wouldn't have had the faction ease-of-use which I enjoy having--I don't have the time or the inclination to spend hours and hours fixing faction to be able to go where I want to go. A min-maxer might balk at the stat and racial ability loss, but it suits my own needs perfectly.
Danth
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