Ooh,I love these sorts of conversations!
I'm also in the "race before class" crowd. This is partly because I'm very omnivorous about what class I play (though there is an exception to this...more on this below), but mostly because I usually fall in love with one race or another based on lore and/or looks. In this case, it is the Raki. In EQ2 it was the Iksar. In Lineage II it was the orcs. Once I know the race I want to be, then I just sort through the possible classes.
The exception was EQ, where you really needed to stick with one class if you wanted to get to max level. I loved rangers more than I loved the Vah Shir, so I never switched races.
So as for my reasons of picking class...well, I consider myself lucky. One, I'm not particularly worried about being badass. So I don't care if I pick a "wimpy" class. Two, I have a guaranteed game partner. So finding groups ain't so rough. Therefore I tend to pick classes on...you guessed it...lore and roleplaying.
For example, the disciple excites me because I've been fascinated by energy-based healing IRL since I was, oh, 12. But I've never been able to have a character like than in an MMO. It's always "you ask the GODS", or "I beseech the SPIRITS" or "you get it from NATURE". Never "use the force, young healer". So, for pure lore reasons, I think the Disciple is the best thing about Vanguard.
On the other hand, I've always loved the concept of the bard. Someone who doesn't just kill, but makes music. I mean...dang, a player class that brings beauty and hope to people. So if Disciple is later revealed to be in fact not what I perceived it to be, I have a backup as a Raki Bard.
And if that goes bust, I'll just keep going down the line. Anything but rogue...I really don't care for the pickpocket thing.
Anyhow, after that...I'm keeping a pretty open mind about what other race I might have for alts. I like to leave my alts up to the inspiration of the moment.
/off-topic
Somewhat related, Cobalt, since you mentioned that you like lightweight feline characters, rather than the Kura/Vah-Shir type, I wanted to confirm (because I have no long term memory) that you've taken note of the Suwari of Heroes Journey? If you look at the little white guy on the far side of the circle in this picture (
http://images.jungle-fire.com/photos/hj_curlyhair.jpg), you'll note that he's a small little scrapper compared to the rest. I'm so pleased that someone finally has a cat-person race that is based on small wild cats, and not lions/tigers.