[Cohen]

Simply Magic Levels and Paths are counted much more than pure fighting skill.

So a Banelord, even if thougher than an Harbringer, or more skilled than a Golem, lacks of any magic skill.

Harbringer can trapeze, mistform and mirror image, and with a +1A item can wrath too.
A Golem with a Starshine Cap can teleport, and he's plenty of buffs like body ethereal, personal luck, astral weapon/shield, resist magic. And it's lifeless, this make enemy SC unable to lifedrain him, even if he doesn't regenerate unless in a lab, in the lab IIRC he heals afflictions too.

However it's true they cost a lot of pearls meanwhile you can easily build a Banelord or better a Tartarian factory.

IMO Astral really needs for some uniques.