Well you made it sound like you don't like Paladins. So you don't like FE8's Paladin?
I concede that amongst the candidates for the Paladin class. Paladin's are good mostly in earlier games such as they happen to make a thriller rescuers as well as having 8 movements. They also have well balance stat caps and a higher Con potential which makes them better in using any weapons in the game. Not to mention, Paladin/Jeigan archetypes helped serve your purpose in terms of being a meatshield for your whole teams. Paladin's does contribute a LOT. That is why they should take more consideration than you could ever expect. Yes, Paladins tend to get RNG-screw a lot of times but with the exception of their purpose they're overall one of the best class of all.