Ooh, Chastise vs. elephants
. It's rather a good countermeasure to the elephant rush, now I've thought about it.
I quite like pilgrims as chaff, as it happens. They feel a lot more solid than militia. I agree with you over Penitents, and am happy if they turn up on a site.
I hadn't thought of the #onebattlespell virtues of priest initiates. They add to the value of an S bless in the late game, as a partial antidote to turn 1 Master Enslave.
Your monks with the 2 Chi Kicks have an awesome defence score, by the way. 24 or so, IIRC.