As a SMN, I feel really unpopular...
For example the Garuda fight.... why the heck should I keep "Ruin"ing one the clones just to appear like I try to nuke it (or the plumes) if I could deal much more damage by applying the 3 main DoTs+Disease to all 3 Garudas?? (since I know my burst is crap)
And on top of that, you get yelled for not actively attacking anything if you have to constantly swift-revive people because you notice the healers are busy to keep the party alive. (even with Aetherflow, we can run out of mp rather quickly with the raising you know..). And on top of THAT, you should micromanage the pet for the max potential. Too much utility lol.

As for Bards... high demand in almost every situation. They are real dps beasts too!
It's a shame that the monk isn't played that often, in the hands of a skilled player they become boss slayers!

I always thought BLM>SMN in terms of popularity.
So it's somewhat like BRD>BLM=LNC>SMN=MNK