Hi, pally build question from a dumb noob here.

I just hit 1750 with my first toon (a cleric), and have been wanting to roll a 32-point pally for a while now. I previously leveled a drow pally to level 9, then saw that I had made some poor build decisions that would limit end-game fun and decided to re-roll once I hit 1750 favor. But now that I am rolling one up, I don't know whether to stay pure or to splash 2 levels of fighter, and would appreciate some advice on this. For some relevant context, here are my goals:

1. DPS first, but without totally neglecting the ability to mitigate damage when necessary. I am a big fan of taking things down faster before they can do you much harm, but don’t want to end up in the embarrassing situation of being a Pally who ends up the biggest mana drain in the party.

2. Am definitely going THF over TWF. And yes, (sigh) I completely appreciate that TWF provides clearly better DPS. However, THF decision is based on (1) several good high-level two-handers I’ve accumulated, (2) +2 dex tomes I haven’t, but mostly (3) curiosity about improvements to THF in mod 9, and (4) desired playstyle for this toon. I am confident that, specced right (see below), I will be able to dish out respectable enough THF damage that I won’t be a drag on the party.

3. However, I would like to preserve some pally versatility and have at least a serviceable defensive mode (call it ac, dr, whatever – just a damage mitigation mode). Does not need to be max or uber-geared ac, the purpose is not to an unhittable intimitank, just make life a little easier on the cleric for those times when you don’t want nicks from a thousand trash mobs (and perhaps glancing blows in mod 9) to add up.

Other requirements:
Human preferred (better stat versatility and extra feat)
Must be able to hit tier-3 KOTC

Feats I would take as a pureP:

1. Toughness
1. THF
3. Khopesh (for respectable damage when using a shield)
6. PA
9. IC: slash
12: ITHF
15: GTHF or cleave (don’t know which would be better, would appreciate input)
18: extend (mainly for zeal and df)

Feats I would also take with a 2f splash (for a better ac mode):
Dodge
CE

Starting stats would be 17-11-14-10-10-14 as a pure pally, and 16-12-14-12-11-14 as a p18/f2. Both builds would be able to easily hit 30+ str, 22+ con, and 24-26 cha endgame.

So here’s the question: splash or not splash?

If I splash, I get:
Dodge
CE
Tower shield proficiency
(net of +8 ac while in defensive mode, and better damage reduction)
fighter haste boost (for improved burst dps, and yet one more button to click)

If I stay pure, I get:
+16 to each LOH
+6 to base smite damage
Capstone (3d6 vs evil outsiders)
Tier-3 of KOTC 2 levels earlier
Earlier access to zeal and holy sword

Is there anything else I’m not considering? I would appreciate any thoughts on this -- thanks!