They should give Ifrit a variation on Contagion, rather than extending the time on the DoTs, it increases the potency. So when you do have shorter encounters, your DoTs can hit harder. Then you might be able to pull off some cool stuff like DoT -> IfritContagion -> Swiftcast->Summon Garuda -> Contagion -> Bane

Or something crazy/silly.

Garuda is powerful because she acts directly on the SMN's powers, rather than just the being the Little-DoT-That-Could.