A Lesser Aasimar Cloistered Cleric 5/ Church Inquisitor 1/Prestige Paladin 1 With the Kobold & Planning Domains (Through worshipping an ideal), Free knowledge devotion. Assuming you play with stacking base attack bonus.
With Substitute domain, for better spell lists (transformation domain).
Would cover all the bases just as well as an artificer, here's the break down:
With the feats: Extend spell (bonus), Knowledge Devotion (Bonus), Persist spell, DMM Persist, Assume Supernatural Ability.
With 2-3 Nightsticks, and a cloak of charisma +2. You can easily go to 18-22 charisma through being a lesser aasimar.
Trapfinding, just as your artificer.
Healing, (A persisted Lesser Vigor solves all healing problems)
Combat, Can cast Polymorph to make himself a monster on the battlefield, can boost it up with divine power if he wants to.
Plenty of good low level spells to take advantage of, can control the battlefield with alter self into quite insane forms, or even worse polymorph into stuff with insane supernatural abilities (demons for greater teleport or mirror mephit for simulacrum or with some the caster level increase abuse, a noble genie and give wishes to the party.) At the very least he'll be getting perfect fly speed, and he can make it last all day if he wants to, and it makes him totally un-MAD, since he can disregard physical attributes altogether and simply persist his alter self.
BC, to some degree, stone shape and similar cleric spells can help control the battlefield.
Tanking, Through Prestige paladin you are proficient with all types of armour, so you'll be able to knock yourself out on full-plate and a Heavy Shield, without losing anything.
True he lacks in the army department, but I prefer being a one man army anyway, He can do just about anything, and in 3 levels time he is eons ahead of Mr. Artificer as he is granting 3 free wishes/day to his companions. (Wuts that Mr. Fighter? You's complaining that I don't cast Greater Magic Weapon enough? Here If you wish for a +5 Blah Blah Blah Longsword, can you wish one up for me as well?)
Oh and all this without paying XP and Gold for the spells, he just does it with anything he's got, even if imprisoned in a totally locked down wall of force prison he can get out through summon holy symbol, polymorph into an imp, teleport.
So IMO A cleric can easily fend for himself at these low levels. The wizard is harder pressed but glitterdust, Alter Self, and Black Tentacles let's him do most of the things an artificer can do.