To be honest, there are plenty of good players who think AST is still weak when it comes to end-game. And, there are plenty of good players who think AST is fine when it comes to end-game.

At this point it's very difficult to compare or debate, because AST was a bit of a "late bloomer" in terms of capability until they got the earlier buffs.

And now, with how over-geared even a casual player is relevant to the endgame content, chances are that if you're not clearing things, there's more improvement to be made within the ability/coordination/time dedicated of your group and individual players, and less in the job you are playing.

When 3.2 rolls around we'll get a better look at whether or not there's really a disparity.