Even if you wanted to play a support Bard, you really can't. You can't use your songs constantly-- they drain MP, and they nerf your damage, and it's not like mages can't restore their own MP anyway.

Bard has really high DPS and all the Archer skills (and Pugilist skills Bard can use) contribute to that. Two DoTs, lots of damage self-buffs, and crits like crazy.

I will grant that there are times when the healer's dead and things have gone crazy and it's up to the Bard to save the day, but that just means activating those damage buffs you usually don't touch (Barrage) and kiting the boss while critting the heck out of it. All your daydream scenarios of using Healing Wind to revive the party? That takes three bars, and you're locked to one or two bars for pretty much the entire game.

Maybe Healing Wind is a valuable end-game raid limit break, but that doesn't mean it's not useless for the first 49 levels and all the story dungeons/battles.