So i'm thinking of leveling Machinist until SE fixes some AST issues, but what is exactly the situation with MCH now?

I saw a lot of them in the beginning but in 60 content I don't see any of them anymore and there aren't that many threads about it as well.
I love the turrets and the whole concept of guns and idea of being supportive-dps, but what role does MCH really fit in currently, or does this class also await changes like dark knight and ast ? Does it have anything unique and better to offer in support than bard ?
I'm not very familiar with DPS classes, but how much less damage does MCH deal in average compared to BLM or SMN?