You misunderstand the original poster--the original poster played DAOC and Rift.Those are pvp MMO's ,where end-game is pvp based not raid based. Raid performance is useless in those games,the focus is pvp performance.Old Republic pvp gear is acquired through PVP and only pvp.So how you do in raids doesn't matter at all if pvp is your main goal. And Scoundrels can recover energy through Cool Head and Pugnacity.

You will definately like being a Scoundrel,much more than a Sentinel.I played DAOC too,I had an Albion Infiltrator,every MMO I go to,I roll a Rogue/Stealther type just like you. A scoundrel front-loads his damage,while a Sentinel can sustain his damage much longer---the diffirence is where a scoundrel loses out in sustained DPS to a Sentinel,they gain in utility.In a situation where a Sentinel would slice through a group of mobs,a scoundrel would mezz one or two enemies,then take the mobs out piecemeal with a combo of DPS and stuns. In pvp,Sentinels are much more mobile than Scoundrels,they close the distance faster,but the Scoundrels have stealth,and a 'Vanish" type skill.With Stealth,you can choose when/where/if/how you want to attack,as you already know. As far as end-game DPS, Sentinels are preferred over Scoundrels,but both classes are shunned in favor of Ranged Dps.The reason being is that a lot of Bosses like to AoE damage,and melee dps need extra healing that a ranged dps won't need.You can still do end-game easily as a healing Scoundrel,though.(I wouldn't worry about PVE raiding,The PVP gear is earned ONLY through pvp,you don't have to pve-raid to get pvp-gear.) I can honestly say,of all the MMO rogues I've played I've enjoyed being a Scoundrel the most. Stick with a scoundrel,learn to use all their skills and you will have a blast.Their skills don't really shine till you get to your level 30's and up,but that's the same as most classes in Old Republic.