WoW has always had this problem of RPG elements and player choice conflicting with the number-crunching side of the game.
The devs know this, so I can only hope that they can make the covenants work in spite of this issue.
In theory, it should be great to have several different paths from which to choose to personalize and define your character. But if one is clearly better than the others, this won’t end up being a real choice for a lot of players.
Ultimately, I think that the game should have more choices and personalisation overall, so it’s worthwhile to experiment with this type of feature. There may be some bumps in the road, but I like the concept.