here's the thing - Solo's sample character SHOULD work. If it doesn't, is a flaw in the game. As a DM, my first choice is giving the player things to _make_ it work, instead of letting them suck and/or die, and telling them to optimize better next time. ( or not even telling them that, and just brutalizing their next character... and the next... and the next... until they learn or quit )
@Lycanthromancer, choices should be between play styles, not between power. Doing that is tricky, without taking options away from the player, admittedly.
Character options should help in building a THEME, not a game of manipulating the power level of your character.