Archmages useless?

[voronin_mike]

As far as I see, that's the case. Magic itself is useful - but you are generally better off with a normal Mage and a fighter Lord. A normal Mage grows faster, so gets more options, and often has more options considering mounts, etc. And his maxed-out spells are the same level as Archmages, who gets them later in campaign. An exception are some racial-specific guys like Skaven Grey Seers, who get options not allowed for Hero-level Mages. And sometimes Legendary Lords, of course. But this seems to be just it - an exception. Anybody has different opinion? Or is it a common knowledge? Or do I forget something?