I recently decided to LR+20 my staff dronk. Love the guy, but he plays more like a melee with quickened Heals than a caster and I felt he wasn't the optimal build for that job. So I wanted to try a melee Ranger, but being decidedly unimpressed by the Tempest chain I figured why not do a Ranger Kensai?

My rough idea of a class split is 11 Ranger (full free feat chains and Cure Mod), 8 Fighter (minimum for Kensai T5), Monk 1 (stances, centered outside of GMoF).

I haven't built a melee DPS in a very long time, but here's a rough draft:

Code:
Level 25 Lawful Neutral Human Male
(8 Fighter \ 1 Monk \ 11 Ranger \ 5 Epic) 
Hit Points: 448
Spell Points: 145 
BAB: 19\19\24\29\29
Fortitude: 20
Reflex: 12
Will: 8

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(36 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 25)
Strength             18                    27
Dexterity            10                    13
Constitution         18                    21
Intelligence          8                    11
Wisdom               10                    13
Charisma              8                    11

Tomes Used
+2 Tome of Intelligence used at level 7
+3 Tome of Strength used at level 11
+3 Tome of Dexterity used at level 11
+3 Tome of Constitution used at level 11
+3 Tome of Wisdom used at level 11


Level 1 (Ranger)
Feat: (Human Bonus) Cleave
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Undead
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Cleric
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Monk
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack


Level 2 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons


Level 3 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness


Level 4 (Ranger)


Level 5 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Stunning Blow


Level 6 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell

Level 7 (Fighter)


Level 8 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Human


Level 9 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Great Cleave
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Weapon Specialization: Slashing Weapons


Level 10 (Ranger)


Level 11 (Ranger)


Level 12 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Dodge


Level 13 (Ranger)


Level 14 (Ranger)


Level 15 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Elf


Level 16 (Ranger)


Level 17 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Bastard Sword


Level 18 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons


Level 19 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Greater Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons


Level 20 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Zen Archery


Level 21 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Overwhelming Critical


Level 22 (Monk)


Level 23 (Monk)


Level 24 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Epic Toughness


Level 25 (Monk)
Since this is an LR, class order doesn't matter and this particular order is chosen to work with the current 3 class limitation during LR.

Enhancements:

Kensai: 33 (minimum to take tier 5 Enhancements)
Deepwood Sniper: 7 (+2D6 SA and +75 positive spell power)
Arcane Archer: 6 (Conjure Arrows for logistics and Energy of the Wild III)
Tempest: 14 (Core II, +STR and Whirling Blades III)
Shintao: 1
Human: 19 (minimum for GH and Healing Amp III)

Planned twists are Dance of Flowers, Cocoon and Brace for Impact, main ED LD or possibly Fury.

Question 1: Simply put: is this build a huge mistake? Would a pure Fighter/Monk split work better? I'd like to think the auto-granted feats and healing puts Ranger ahead for what I'm trying to do, but I'm not sure.

Question 2: I _think_ I've gotten all the basic feats - did I miss any?

Question 3: What skills should I focus on? I reckon Balance is mandatory. If invest in UMD I can probably reach standing UMD of 20 (enough to bypass alignment restriction), with swap-ins a bit more but not enough for no-fail Raise Dead. Is Hide and Move Silently of any use for non-rogues? Which, if any, social skills are recommended?

Question 4: Would it be worth it to drop GH and HA III for another 10% offhand chance from Shintao tree? I could potentially free up to 14 points from Human tree if I decide to go down that route.