Protect? Really important? Low level content

[Cynfael]

This is a very good point for one thing. Along with the fact that Protect is one cast. It doesn't hurt to cast it to make your group happy and then go back to slotting Cleric. It's just stubborn and I'm of the opinion that we are healers first, so any extra damage reduction we can add is our job.

Agreed...providing that your group is willing to wait for the CD on ability-swapping. If they aren't, and you're limited to using one or the other, CS is clearly the superior choice for damage reduction in low-level duties, assuming that the healer is pulling enough weight.