Need some help with a character, Mage with some issues. Options

[Onin the Shade]

Ok, the last session I played in, our group were all heavy hitters, Im now a smokeing pile of mage-bits scattered across the barrens and the other 3 decided it would be a good idea to be a little more stealthy. My brother dropped his medic character (after realiseing he was useless unless healing people) and i decided to stick to a mage. I like the mages in this game, they seem more versitle. Anyways, because ive come to realise that its called "SHADOWRUN" and not "LOOK AT ME IM RIGHT HERE-RUN" ive decided to be a little more stealthy. My questions are simple, but i cant seem to figure out what would be best. Im going to have the invisibilty and stealth spells, that seems to be a must, first question is, should i put enough ranks into the stealth skills or skill group so that i would be just as stealthy, if not a little less, with the spells and without them sustained? Or would it be more worthwhile to just concentrate on spellcasting, put just enough ranks in the stealth skills so im not defaulting, and let the spells be sneaky for me? I can see the bonus for the first one, it being that if they see through the spells, then im still relativly hidden and sneaky, but the downside would be the extra cost in BP, which would ultimately lower my spell effectiveness (skills, then putting enough into AGI and INT that it would work). The second one would be that if im good at spells, then its harder for them to see me, but i wouldnt be able to sneak around in anti-magic areas, or places that get warded. Also if they see through the spell, then im boned, but that would be about the same for someone rolling high perception and seeing a sneaky dude. Any other tips on how to be sneaky, or a better mage in general, would rock. Im a novice to the game, and mages in general, normally palyed a cleric. (IE is there any spell that is a must have?)

Also, a good race. was thinking elven for the higher cha for me being a shamenistic mage, or troll for the higher bod and str, which ultimately saves me points from not putting any points into them anyhow.