Quick Update: I answered my own question by getting to play gunslinger. We have a very specific purpose in PVE/PVP and that is single target damage. With that said, it is awesome being in the back and dying maybe 3-5 times in a warzone while racking up 25-30 kills by taking out stragglers. What we lack in utility we make up in damage.

Thanks for the good replies. I didn't think about the utility side of gunslinger. Bottom line is no one wants to role based off of "style" and be left out of raid/pvp groups until balancing hits. With this in mind, I am just trying to be pre-emptive. Outside of that, I agree with the fact that the idea of smuggling is awesome.

Like many of you I had a chance to test out the gunslinger during Thanksgiving weekend and really enjoyed my time with the class. Even though I found the cover system fun, I am starting to question the real benefit to going gunslinger. From what I understand, commando gets better armor, high dps, and more mobility. From a PVP/raid standpoint, what can the gunslinger bring to the table that a commando can't? I am still leaning towards the smuggler class strictly for story, but I was hoping some of you experienced players can weigh in and tell me what attributes I would have that a commando wouldn't?