I know Sorcerers are usually deemed the king of arcane spellchuckers, but how do they compare to dual classed Mages? Options

[Klorox]

I know the Sorcerer is a totally bad-ass spellcaster, and with spells like Project Image can beat just about anything in the game, but is a Sorcerer a better character than a dual classed Mage who begins as a Thief (for a few skills, like dealing with locks and traps when not casting) or as a Fighter (who has a lot of HP to play with as well as the ability to fire a longbow when spells run out) or even a Cleric (who will still have more HP than a Mage as well as some very different magicks to play with)?

Let the debate begin!