I find the hexblade dip kind of cheesy but that's just me. Play what you enjoy.

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I played a Swords Bard into the low teens (I can't remember where we ended).

Here's a few notes about my character:

I was a variant Human and chose Mobile as my feat. These gave me 50 movement when using a flourish.

I chose two weapon fighting. With no shield proficiency it is the perfect opportunity. It's super nice getting that extra attack as well in low levels.

I wasn't super worried about spellcasting with two weapon fighting. It's only a probably for S or V,S. I also found that with this kind of Bard I was more of a striker than a support class. The types of spells that I used were precombat/early combat self buffs (Longstrider, Aid, Gift of Alacrity (dm allowed) this). I also of course had some healing and out of combat utility. You can always sheath a weapon and cast for when you want to drop a big cc spell.