I almost always use Master Queeg (often with Promises) and a couple of hounds. This is a core 14 points that is good at scheme running, and if (more often, when) you do lose a hound, the other one can still be a pain - the potential for them to charge for 1AP (given the right circumstances) can give them a potential 17" threat range (let's ignore their min damage 1, and so might end up nibbling things to death). Hell, a solitary hound can still help by being a 3 point tar-pit/annoyance, tying up or delaying a key model of your opponents crew for a turn can still help with you achieving schemes/denying your opponent.
Promises on Queeg can help you with killing stuff (especially if you want to target something terrifying and can't avoid a horror test). The amount of fun I have had with Franco and Lady J benefiting from Promises is high
I also take the Brutal Effigy a lot, he's cheap, often tricky to remove (unless things ignore armour, or have relic hammers...), and can help keep your master alive with fear not the sword (even the pistol-toting Perdita can benefit from it). However, it's lack of melee attack can be a problem, and so less often an auto-include, unlike those above.
My key suggestion though: Play with what you have got. Learn them fully, then add something new. Rinse, repeat.
