Buff/Debuff is up next for the revamp, we'll see how things go with that re: Debuff. Though, I will say there are players who actually like buffing/debuffing the heck out of things and watching their demon buddies clean up. On the other hand, I agree the experience could be made more interesting, even for them.
In general, I'll admit I view Demon's ability list as more like a Magic: the Gathering set than anything else. It isn't necessary, to me, for everything to be popular, so long as it has some theoretically decent use. If something's *completely* useless or has no place, that's one thing. But Soothe, for example: it offers a choice: You can get a 20% discount on SP->HealPow cost if you're willing to accept a condition on that healing. Is this particular choice one many builds will make? Probably not. But, is it a choice at least a few builds might make? Yeah, I can see it.