Eternal Flame/Light of Dawn isn't worth wasting mana on Crusader Strike.
HP generation is gimped though. HP for Holy Paladins is just there to provide some free healing at times. You shouldn't go out of your way to generate it(you can't anyway.)
It is a viable tool in aoe situations? I don't understand why people think it's not. It could use a VERY slight mana cost reduction; but that's it.