I don't think you're going to be able to find a great guide on samurai. Most people just look to instant kill others with their limit break. I haven't played CC in months, but I'm pretty sure that most players are still marking samurai target to ignore every time their limit break pops up.

Majority of the things I do agree with you with. Samurai seems very weak compared to the other melees, because they're the only class that is forced to commit in the frontlines. They don't really have any escape tools at their disposal. As far as being easily shredded that's about the only thing I can confidently disagree with. Chiten is the strongest ability that samurai has. It's not a defensive tool. It's a counter-burst tool. It gains a ton of value from other people targeting them while they're on the offense. I would personally avoid using stuns and roots while Chiten is active unless you are forced to as a last ditch effort to live.

Take it with a grain of salt. I only have 3 hours of Crystal gameplay experience despite never touching Crystal at all.