Maybe the closest comparison in your mind is WoW's Warlock. But consider this.

In the FF universe, there are 6 Properties of Magic (that I can think of at this posting). The categories into which every spell fits is "Elemental vs. Unaspected", and within that we have Destructive, Restorative, Debilitative, and Enhancement. Every caster and summon monster has ever held true to this magical construct over the years.

In the case of FFXIV - Elemental Destructive Magic is covered primarily by BLM, and to a lesser extent WHM. Elemental Restorative Magic is a WHM's specialty. Unaspected Restorative Magic goes to SCH. Which leaves SMN with what? Alone, we are Unaspected Debilitative Magic (what FF13 referred to as Saboteur) with a minor in Unaspected Destructive. Our pet adds to this by giving us what should be Elemental Destructive/Debilitative, but the elemental part is as yet lacking in this game.

We are our own niche now. There is no need to overhaul the job just because it's unfamiliar. A few little tweaks to increase pet interaction and an elementals-based reason to get more of them and we should be fine.