They are necessary. Every tank needs Provoke, every Healer needs Esuna, etc. Giving every class access to its utility this way is important.

They also make it easier to adapt across classes: I don't need to learn 3 different abilities that all give 20% DR because it's just Rampart on every tank. Obviously, this is a new player thing, but it shouldn't be understated.

Thinking about them in terms of gain and loss is a bad way to look at it. Look at the balance as it stands now, because the past is irrelevant.