Winterheart

I very much prefer playing a unarmed monk. It fits the fantasy better imo. Also I not quite convinced that weapons outclassed unarmed attack. They may have had bigger number for individual attacks, but the speed of the fists are (almost) unmatched. Fists may be even stronger in PoE2 as it is linked to your power level and would scale better for a pure monk.

Given that a unarmed monks damage is tied to their PL would it be ideal to run a dps monk as a single class, rather than multiclassing? The role I had in mind is as a melee damage dealer/bruiser with the Shattered Pillars subclass. For multiclass options I had either Soul Blade or Devoted in mind. As for party composition I am also planning to run Eder as a maintank and Pallegina as a offtank and melee buffer.

I'm kind of shooting in the dark here, but I don't suppose this could work with ranged weapons? Using fists would likely be the best option here. Skalds generate phrases from critical hits so you want to attack as fast as possible.

I think all chanter subclasses could work with a monk. With the Beckoner you can be a melee summoner. Engage the enemy mages and ranged and swarm them with your own attacks plus your summons. Troubadour makes a decent melee supporter, providing passive bonuses for your melee group while beating them up. With the Skald subclass and using fists you should be able to overwhelm any group with offensive invocations. I think this may be one of the most powerful damage and control builds you can make, possibly borderline gamebreaking once you get it rolling.

The Troubadour/Kind Wayfarer looks like it could make a very strong frontline supporter/healer/secondary tank. For the melee striker and main character I am thinking about a Shattered Pillars/Bleak Walker or Soul Blade. A Shattered Pillars/Mage-Slayer looks like someone that could also really wreck havoc in the enemy lines.