I'm also a 3rd person player (except when looting as mentioned above, lol). I'd agree with hotkeys for cam views... I use one to snap me back into first person view when needed.
Instead of using F8 (select nearest NPC), I use the cycle option. It's one of the target options that is NOT associated with any default key and must be setup. It's called something like "cycle through nearest NPCs" and there's also a "cycle through nearest PCs". Both have been invaluable to me.
With my movement keys keyed to A,S,D and W, I have the cycle target keys set to "e" and "E" (though you could do F8 and Shift-F8 just as easily). For me, being able to quickly toggle through PCs and NPCs makes a world of difference, especially when dealing with hairy situations that demand quick targetting.