Well, I should have said shamans get meaningful slows for their level for most of the game. My Drowsy spell at lvl 32 isn't quite making my beastlord a monster solo machine
You're right though, I made it sound like BSTs didn't get slows which they do, starting as young as lvl 9 or 15 (I forget).
Beastlords are good soloers, but largely because of the pet. Even a melee-oriented (rather than pet cleric) BST needs his pet to stay alive. Regardless of how sought after BST's are, I don't think they're really the same "feel" as a knight for "mix of melee and magic". They're as close as you'll get with a Barbarian, but it's not the same thing.