I started as a male duskwright and went female highlander for the extra strength stat (which I now know is trivial, but it was the early days!).
Stayed highlander for most of my time in the game but defintely wanted to go au ra when available, I wanted something different from the human hyurs but didn't want to be one of a million kitties. Anyway, I bought the four pack of fantasias that were on sale shortly before Heavensward came out and tried the kitty for a couple of weeks. So now, I'm staying au ra and am enjoying not getting the "Lesh tucks" jokes my highlander got.