I'm less bothered by Lords of Civ than Ophanim, since I have nothing to compare them with. They are summoned as SC's without any gear. Seraphs etc needs some equipment to be efficient.
The difference between a LoC and a seraph is not that big. Just a pair of wings
I think by the time you summon seraph, gears would be the least thing you would worry about. Ophan is great against smaller beings, but against any other SC, it is dead meat, I mean wheel.