Avenger’s Shield post buff is a lot better than it was, but is still on the weaker side of slows. The issue is giving up access to Exemplar/Rebuke and to a lesser extent aura mastery (Very valuable against non-prot warrior and rogues, also has some utility in the fire mage fights)
Freedom is NOT a gap closer. All freedom does is prevent your slows as long as it’s not purged (which is not often). It does not create distance itself, you need to pair it with steed. If you mess up steed or there is a chance to get free, you have now a 45 second period where you are a lumbering melee with no mobility.
If you think that Divine Favor is better in PVP than Repentance without aura mastery you are playing against some TERRIBLE players. I run Fanaticism in PVP, there is no room for Favor. Good players are going to not give you the time to use it, and the only time it will work is in bubble which at that point fanaticism is more than effective.
Divine Favor is the choice of select duels, not large scale PVP or PVP against a wide range of opponent’s.
I am not sure what spiritual attunement is, I assume you mean Spiritual Focus which is standard in the PVP build and not the PVE build. So yes that’s just auto taken, unless I want to run the Hammer CD reduction.
Dispel Magic is also a purge, and you’re also weak to rogues, glad stance deep prot warriors, Shadow Priests that have brain cells, some of the really powerful burst hunters, and boomkins with gear. it’s not like it’s ONLY shaman beating paladins. Fire mages can also get some nutty wombos too, but that feels less consistent.
Again, if this is working for you in PVP, you are playing against bad players. I never get to free cast outside of bubble, and for some really stupid reason Crusader Strike and Divine Storm are coded as holy SPELLS, so getting kicked puts those on CD too.
And I didn’t say no utility, I said the weakest utility for melee.