I'm thinking the Paladin has got to be more of a solo mage like the forcemaster. Heck I have trouble even thinking of a paladin as a mage at all, what comes to mind is basically a holy warrior with a little bit of magic and a lot of divine protection. I assume he's going to have a mount perhaps it will even be his familiar. It would be pretty amazing to have a huge warhorse as a familiar, and potentially even an interesting spin to have something like an 18-21 point familiar that can actually hold it's own in a fight. I wondering if this might even be the first mage with a lower spellbook point total but enhanced basic stats.
I'm not going to be able to remember the source but I do know that I read or watched something that said the Paladin will have Paladin exclusive armor and when made into a full set you will get additional bonuses. They also went on to say that it would be more difficult to remove the armor than by current means.
I had a similar idea for a Paladin mount. I think you are right that it will be his familiar for sure. It could channel +1 and be able to give battle commands or some type of support commands, or just summon incantations spells like the wizards familiar. Paladins are supposed to be tanks, so instead of the mount being an offensive creature, I thought it would be more about absorbing blows. Possibly 5 armor/ 15 health regen +2, with fast trait (it is a mount afterall) and charge+2 (or a new trample 2 mechanic i.e automatic 2 unavoidable attack), with a measly 1 attack die for stability. It should also have the intercept ability so that it absorbs all damage first, making it more like a forcemasters forcefield. So not strong offensively, but great at keeping the paladin alive, while being able to get around the board quickly and freeing up the paladin to make his own attacks.
With the suit of armor and his mount this could really make the Paladin the strongest defensive player in the game. The balancing would have to be similar to the Forcemaster in which he gets very little creatures, maybe one or two big baddies and a handful of smaller ones. However his healing abilities would ensure their longevity and utter annoyance.
Anyway, just a thought.