A common counter arguement I hear is that having a purely pet-based class A) makes you vulnerable/useless without said pet and B) makes you feel less important since you're not the main one dealing the damage. And while I can understand the sentiment, I don't get the reasoning. Summons should stand out if one is a summoner, that's kind of their thing. It's like being the coach or manager to a boxer or fighter. Yeah, you're not the one punching Bahamut in the face, but again, there are already other classes that do that and your summon can only do it with your power and guidance. My point is, summon and summoner should be partners and ideally one shouldn't overshadow the other. Sure, maybe in XI the summoner was basically just the cheerleader for the summon she sent at an enemy, but having the summon be an afterthought to the WoW warlock with a horn isn't much better.

*As an aside, where are the good guy male summoners? Even in this game the dude summoner's an antagonist.