What is the path of blood for?

[Question]

I don't understand how to use the path of blood.

-Blood hunting generates unrest, which requires patrols in every province

-Micromanaging the blood pool constantly is annoying (blood slaves go into commander slots and not the pool

-Most of the combat spells hurt your side too unless you are using undead only

-Demon summoning...not sure how useful they are?

-Summoning horrors seems pretty dangerous to yourself

-None of the blood items are really impressive from their descriptions...why use heartfinder instead of frost/fire/shadow brand for example?

How do you use the path of blood effectively?