No one can heal as good as a cleric. Period. If you're talking end game usefullness in old school EQ then cleric wins hands down. However if you're talking duo ability then Cleric's aren't the best choice. They can lull which makes it easier to break some camps but have zero utility really.
If you want the best partner to a melee class strictly in a duo sense then you can't go wrong with Shaman. Shaman's can slow the mob up to 70% which reduces the need for a complete heal altogether. Shaman's excel at increasing the output of their melee partner by being able to debuff a mob, haste the melee, buff strength for more damage, dex buff for more proc's and have decent HP/AC buffs as to top it off. Not to mention they have utility like sow, shrink, regen, resist buffs for all 5 resists, etc...
With a Cleric/Warrior it comes down to... Warrior engages mob. When down to low health Cleric casts CH. If you get adds root for crowd control and hope it doesn't break before your next CH is off.
With Shaman/Warrior it goes like this... Warrior engages mob, Shaman sends in hasted pet. After aggro is established(if warrior has proc weapon then he will be hasted and dex buffed by shaman) Shaman casts slow. Heal as necessary and if mob needs to die quickly then Shaman can cast a DoT as well. If you get adds Shaman can off tank pretty well, at least long enough to root park, slow and heal if need be. My shaman got to 50 by tanking specs right up in their face, no kiting or root parking necessary.
Basically a Shaman/Melee will burn through mobs much easier and safer due to the utility and extra DPS from pet. Cleric/Melee is a great combo, just not as efficient. Assuming the mob can be slowed then most encounters become trivial as long as the shaman doesn't run out of mana. Once you get into planes and boss mobs then even with slow the Shaman won't be able to keep up with heals, but based on your post I doubt this is something you're worried about.
At lower levels you can aggro kite with the Shaman and let the melee run behind and get free DPS without even getting hit. Slow, malise, dots, etc.. cause massive aggro so if his pet and the melee don't taunt it isn't hard to keep the mob's attention. If outside you can easily run around after pissing off the mob and let dog and melee get free damage. Very mana efficient way to kill mobs much higher than you if you're willing to put out the effort.
Then there's Kunark... Shaman's really become strong in Kunark and even better in Velious.. Shaman/Monk is unreal. Clerics are always needed and rezzes are like gold. But if you want to duo with your buddy most of the game then you can't go wrong with a Shaman. Oh and go Ogre or go home. No frontal stun > all. Period.
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