First play through with the add ons

I've played DAO, many, many years ago. I ended up abandoning it and never could finish it. Years later, after I moved and everything and had no internet... This game became my addiction.

Now, here comes a time that I can play it, with add ons.

I'm thinking of getting all of the add-ons, but I'm not exactly sure what type of play through I want to go with. Maybe I'll use some characters I hardly used in the passed?

I've read some things about the add-ons, but not a lot. Does anyone have any information about them? I don't want to go in blindly and I prefer a lot of people's opinions so I know what can/will happen in the game.

I'm also looking for a fun build, I've actually never tried any builds, I just picked what I thought would be useful.