nobody is saying this so I guess it's just me but .. what about AST's spell speed? IMO, I think they are way slower than SCH and WHM (every time I switch from SCH or WHM to AST I feel this), especially if in Noct stance (still, I think diurnal is quite slow too).
Lightspeed is really helpful, but I'm not sure it is enough to compensate .. I'd just like to read your opinion on this .. :P