Well-timed necro, I just started a new game last night!
I always let the levels decide who I'll keep and who I'll ditch. So far, Boyd and Gatrie are looking very strong, while Ike hasn't gained a single point of defense in ten levels! I slapped a knight ring on him in the hope of addressing this issue.
I intend to avoid using laguz, even though they're pretty good in PoR. They're crap in RD, and I want to carry my team over. I'll probably end up taking, Mist, Rolf, Nephenee, Elincia, Jill and Haar to endgame. Everyone else is going to have to work for the privilige!
This time I know to ignore Sothe... in my first playthough I invested a lot of experience in him, and he was looking really strong until I found out that he can't be promoted. 
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.
