Quote - In preview mode they look close to what i would expect.

Preview does not accurately display light fall-off. If I set Distance End on a point light at the exact distance the figure is from the light, Preview shows it lit quite well, but the render shows it virtually unlit, as you would expect.

So unless you are certain that the distance end on the point lights is far beyond the figure you want to illuminate, I would suggest trying it with both Distance Start and Distance End set to zero (i.e. no fall-off at all). This will at the very least eliminate this factor from the equation.

It might be the shader not working, but it seems unlikely that a default skin shader has little or no diffuse in it.

"If I were a shadow, I know I wouldn't like to be half of what I should be."
Mr Otsuka, the old black tomcat in Kafka on the Shore (Haruki Murakami)