I did biology, chemistry and maths A-levels and am doing Biochemistry at uni
When applying to uni they normally consider maths as a science so if you wanted to do biology and you need another science then you would be fine however some courses such as biochemistry normally require both or some require chemistry and another scince so depending on what you want to do at uni then you should be fine.
As for an essay subject it depends if you know what course you want to do and it is something like maths then no there isn't a big benefit in doing an essay subject if any (some would say it gives experience for dissertations etc) however if you haven't decided then it might be a good idea as it will keep your options open, someone at my school did chemistry, maths and history and ended up doing a history degree so don't need all essay subjects.
If you are just doing an essay based subject when the course you want to do doesn't require one I might suggest an EPQ which sometimes can lower entry requirements and for science subjects helps you get accepted as it shows your own research abilities as well as it being an essay