I've played a coercer to 42 and I think you might be happier with Illusionist myself. Charm can be fun, but its also very risky, especially when you're in a setting where the only decent pets are heroics. One resist after a charm break often means instant death, and charm has a way of breaking at the worst times, which can mean a group wiping if it happens at a really bad time. It can be frustrating - enchanters like to be the one to save the group, not get it killed. As far as buffs and other spells go, I think both classes are useful to a group. Coercer buffs are better for mellee, Illusionist's have better caster buffs. Who's better will depend on the group.
Another thing about Coercer is that getting a master charm is huuuuuuuuuuge, and they are very hard to find I've found. The differance between a master and an adept is much greater then it is with most spells. When I finally upgraded my level 20 charm from adept to master, some of the caster mobs I charmed went from hitting for a max of around 400 to hitting for 2k on occassion (some of the caster mobs in enchanted lands I've had do this). That's a nice nuke for a pet, but it took me until i got to level 40 just to find a master charm at any level that I could afford. So if you play a coercer, you're going to feel kind of gimped until you luck into a master charm.
Message Edited by VerikDarkfaith on 08-03-2006 03:40 PM