Jumping puzzles are the devil.
Do you guys ever run without a rogue? I have been doing that a lot lately- two Mage two warriors or three Mage one warrior party. Besides being annoyed by locked doors I really enjoy it.
Right now I'm trying to decide between rift Mage and KE- people seem to like them both?
I really like both Rift Mage and KE. If you spec into barriers and the ice tree (and even if you don't) Knight Enchanter is a god. If you want to play a mage like a warrior, face tank dragons, and hit in close up combat, then I'd go KE. Rift Mage is like Force Mage with the side of it actually feeling like your character is building off their fade talents. It's a great spec if you like playing aoe nukers. I recommend lightning with a side of fire as the support. Ripping holes in reality is a lot of fun and you get nice comments from both Solas and Cole on the subject if they properly fire.
If anything, it's really a question of play style. I roleplayed my Lavellan picking Knight Enchanter over Rift Mage because she wanted to make diplomatic inroads toward the Circle Mages and the Chantry. An outsider learning their magic so she could better understand them. My human mage went Rift Mage because she wanted to better understand the Fade and the power of the Anchor, she felt learning more about it would help her control it better.