Well, you don't actually have to have a bread knife. A good sharp knife will cut bread, even crusty bread. That said, I have a Henckels 8" bread knife to go with my breadmaker. But it isn't actually necessary.
I'm still filling out my kitchen knives, so take this from a guy who isn't a chef or a pro cook in any sense of the word, get a decent paring knife (I now have four because I've been testing them out and have a custom on order once I figure out all my issues) and something large enough to whack a head of cabbage. I happen to have a Global deba that I like, except that the spine isn't straight, which annoys me when I try to push all the chopped veggies off the board into the pan. Get something with a straight spine. Trust me.
The santoku is a good all around kitchen knife. I have a 5" version that my girlfriend really, really likes, but it isn't quite large enough to whack that head of cabbage, so I'm thinking 6.5" to maybe 7" is right for me. You may feel differently.
I'm also a fan of the simple Japanese handle. The more 'designer' handle of the Globals just annoy me and bang my middle finger on the board when I'm chopping. Go simple. That's what I'm learning on my journey through kitchen knife land. Simple forms work best because they are more versatile.
Chisel versus v-grind. I have one chisel ground knife, the 7" deba. It's a fine knife, though a pain for me personally to sharpen. I'm working on that. I do very much like the way it tends to push the chunk of just cut whatever away from the blade. Those divots you see in the sides of santokus never worked for me. The chisel does. YMMV.
I also have a boning knife, which I very rarely ever use and really, I don't need it.
The one thing I'm contemplating at this point is one of those Japanese veggie cleavers, a nakiri. That's a sexy knife to me. Simple shape designed to efficiently disassemble veggies. What's not to like?
In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with buying a knife block set. Honestly, there isn't. You'll find the knives useful when you're using them and pretty when you aren't. Win-win, I say. On the other hand, you have to adapt your style to the knife you have instead of buying a specific knife to accentuate your strengths, whatever they may be. I get that, but other than chopping up vegetables, I'm not sure I have any other strengths than making a decent omlet (which depends on the availability of sauted veggies, which takes me right back to chopping them up). I don't disassemble cows or pigs in my kitchen. I buy roasts and chops at the grocery store, so I don't need a big butcher knife (so why pay for it? Right?).
Oops! Gotta run!
