[thejeff]

You don't even really need the bless for Pan thugs.
With Earth & Nature they can self buff Protection, regen & reinvig, so just equip appropriately.

For human thugs: Not really.
They're just too fragile. Buff them however you want, they've got few enough hp they'll still drop with one lucky hit.
Exceptions would be prophets in dominion or someone who gets one of the hp boosting Heroic abilities. Then they become marginal.