Dextress does quite a bit of damage while buffed and can survive relatively well while wearing a talon and wing. One point in mana shield is recommended.
Paladin is very practical in both pve and pvp with its high survivability.
Mage acts as a good little nuke. If you have someone taking the damage for you, by all means go all out and you'll knock out the enemies. If you don't have someone taking the damage... you're probably going to die a lot. For more survivability I'd suggest a wand and eye as well as just one point in mana shield.

For all of these, you want to keep as much INT as possible. Dex/str builds may be easier to survive with, but any hybrid sacrifices mana, mana regeneration, and spell damage. If you put as much int as possible, you can get a couple base points in mana regeneration and a slightly larger mana pool.