I think the problem isn't that fixers are broken .. the prolem ist that ao misses something besides combat. Who need good lockpicking if there aren't important locks to pick .. etc. they should further try to implemet more side story elemets and going for quest is one step in the correct direction.
I stop playing my fixer not because he suck in combat .. more i miss situations that are only handleable by fixers .. i guess that's the same what most agents miss. Something to do beside bashing heads.
I have no problem to ask my friend the soldier to hole some heads.. if the soldier on the other hand needs me to open locks .. disarm traps ... hack terminals.. sneak by some unbeatable freaks etc.
( Not to mention the giant ip problem all fixers have ! )
On the long way only games with something more deapth than .. bash heads per seconds will survive.
g.
Xylia