Their looks ARE worth it, rangers aren't supposed to have a utility pet, so there's no "IT" to be worth EXCEPT the looks.
Also, I've played all through my teens with a Monk, and grouped with several fighters, and I've consistently outdamaged every fighter class I've worked with, to the point that I often steal aggro.
Bear in mind that their highest specials do around 40 damage, and our highest do pretty much 100 damage, with our lowest doing around 40