I've noticed that it's pretty easy to make all-powerful character in VtMB if you play as Ventrue. Right off the bat you can basically max Persuasion and before the first hub is over you have a jack of all trades that's actually high up in all those trades. Granted this isn't my first time playing but I would still choose the same build for my first playthrough.
Does having a lot of points in Research actually do anything when you read those books?