I've found, when playing this tradition, that style and substance can be had in equal measure. Certain play styles have different mileage, naturally. But I've found that this tradition allows me to nicely fill the combat mage role, and using a spirit to possess yourself can give you a major edge when facing mundane enemies. Use a spirit with the Energy Aura power, and suddenly bringing a sword to a gunfight means you're cutting soldiers in milspec armor in two. Follow up with initiation to get the Channeling metamagic, and you're golden.
Of course, that is a trick you want to use sparingly, or you may get all kinds of attention you don't really want.