Eh, his death served a purpose - setting the scene and tone of the threat that the Archbishop and his Knights presented. It'd make for a very dull story if they'd just been defeated without ever gaining a single meaningful victory - especially since they were more misguided antagonists rather than outright villains. Death is a realistic consequence of the events plaguing Eorzea. Obviously our character isn't likely to die (and if they do, they'll be brought back) and so having major characters perish in our stead is a solid compromise.

Not many will care if 'generic NPC#5667' gets killed off in a cutscene. It just lacks the same impact as a character we've come to know and love perishing before our very eyes.