Um, see...that's wrong. According to SOE's promises at the beginning of the game, ALL priests would heal equally well; just differently. The fury wasn't intended to be an EQ1 druid; we don't have the powerful nukes and DoTs and debuffs we once had. Sure, I can add some reasonable DPS to a group, but my primary function is as a healer. But it's just like you said, furies are "too weak of a healer to be a primary healer," with "not enough useful utility to be a full-fledged utility class." That begs the question--what ARE we, then?
Furies need to be able to be primary healers. Period. That's our main function as a priest class, and we should be GOOD at it. Equally good, as SOE said, as any other priest class.
She is absolutely correct. Wardens and Fury's are both meant to be primary healers, and healers first and formost. All of the healers are suppose to be able to do the job well, but differently. Templars vs Inquis for example both working well for the most part. Templars heal for a little more but Inquis debuffs are better and easily make up for the difference. The point is, they can both fill the role of the Primary healer with no trouble.
Wardens are also in this boat, tho the Druid agro situation requires that you have a very talented Tank, which luckily I always do with my guild groups. With a good Tank tho I can easily solo heal in the nastiest places taking on multiple group encounters at once and still have power left at the end of a fight.
Healing is the Fury's job, just like it is the Wardens. Theres different ways to accomplish this job however. Preventing damage or making things die faster can help also. Inquisitors excell in preventing damage with debuffs and stifles.. Wardens and Templars are very defensive in nature, Furys are suppose to be offensive (not them personally but what they can add to a group) but that doesn't seem to be working out too well so far.
At the end of the battle tho, all of the healers are suppose to be able to do thier job just as well as the others. Its they way we do it and our utilities that make us different. We are not eq1 druids, not even close. If your wanting a hybrid class like Druids where in EQ1 then your flat out in the wrong class.