Clarkelapraire,
There is actually a pretty elegant mathematical way to accomplish this (best implemented using EQS in my opinion).
Using EQS you will query a path destination that is X units away from your target, and X2 units away from your character. The result of this operation (which can be tuned for your specific needs) is that your AI will always be approaching your Player, but will always flank to the left or right as they need to satisfy the X2 requirement of the EQS Query.
For an added layer of hotness, dig into the Dot Product filter of EQS, which will allow you to avoid locations directly in front of your character.