As certains races, you need 7+ (I think 9 or more for certain race/class combinations) trains to max your stats after character creation. That is quite a lot of hit points at 50. Also, I always found saves equipment to be far more reliable than high stat scores when it comes to saving against spells, and 70-90 health is a lot of damage if you have sanctuary, protection and some decent armor class when fighting melee characters. And with the cleric example, you still have max strength as long as the spell is up, and you earned another 50 hit points.
With an ogre, dwarf or giant, I would not bother as much about saving trains, because you are really durable anyway. There's not really any right way or wrong way, all the stats are beneficial in their own way, so it's really all about what you prefer - more health or the bonuses of maxed stats.