Gladius Legis
Legend
The Bard (Tier 3) is better at spellcasting, skills, social situations, and exploration. And combat, too.The real question in 3.x suck should be "if i take out the tier 1 and tier 2 classes, does it still suck?". And if the answer is yes, then it does indeed suck.
The Ranger (Tier 4) is better at skills, exploration, and combat, and even arguably spellcasting.
The Rogue (Tier 4) is better at skills, social situations, and exploration, and even arguably combat.
Everything else in Tier 3 and below is still better at combat.
So the answer for the 3.5 Paladin is a resounding yes, it still sucks even with tiers 1 and 2 gone.