Suggestions to improve the Water Magic discipline

[Vicious Love]

Too many of these suggestions would make water too much like the other paths. The sort of battlefield mojo suggested here really sounds more like fire magic, and the overland population killers/economy disrupters are already present in plenty of other paths. Methinks we should make what water already has more powerful, rather than making all the other paths less unique and ruining water's style and the strategies associated with it in the process.
The Waterways spell is definitely fifthed, and reflection definitely fits water's symbolic aspect, though I worry about balance issues.
The water path peripheral benefit is definitely the feeblest of them all, but allowing water mages to bring 5-10 units underwater with them might ruin the water races' home court advantage, and make certain higher levels spells kinda useless. Besides, water mages can already supplement native oceanic troops with kickass aquatic summons the moment a land nation has a foothold in the sea.
I'd much rather see water mages get either a defense bonus, or something a bit more useful for non-melee mages, though I'm not entirely sure what.
If entirely new types of spell really are necessary, there's plenty that water symbolizes which isn't quite covered by the other paths, such as the adapatability/malleability/motion/fluid gooeyness evident in Quickness and in the Masters of the Way, coupled with the serenity also seen in the Masters, but not readily apparent in any actual spells.
If you positively must rip off the other paths, there're probably things that can be done with scrying that retain that watery touch, rather than being pure astral.