We're a DPS class now, folks. We were always intended to be, as that is the basis of the archetype system. You may not want pets or doppelgangers, but SOE has to give us more damage in *some* form. If it were just nukes, we'd be sorcerers. I think the concept of the Persona Duplicate spell is quite nice, and it fits our class well. Charm may not be a perfect fit, but it'll be a useful tool and a way to solo. If you don't care about soloing, that's fine -- but many folks do. All classes are supposed to be able to solo.
In all, some of these changes look promising. We'll no longer be toothless mana batteries. Instead, we'll have a couple of choices for how we do damage (charm or duplicate). At least that will require some choices and some tactics. It's certainly more interesting than just having bigger nukes.