The way she actually handles combat is determined by the way you develop her throughout the game and, as I pointed out in one of the previous posts, her abitlities increase dramatically when combined with high lvl Heroism and Bless.

And I have never experienced her losing hp too quickly as compared with the rest of the might party.

At the end of the day, however, it all boils down to personal preferences and playing style.

This being said, I cannot imagine playing without an Archer in my might party. She is an invaluable asset!