Over all, it reminds me of the nerf to the Ammunition Property.
You know, the one that was targeted at people busting out gun-kata twin hand-crossbows, but made the classic sling + shield combat style unviable. The one I despise because the DPR of people using the xbow expert feat didn't change at all, it was merely an aesthetic change.
Anyway, lets see what changed:
Range: Self (5-foot radius)
This is what guts the interactions with all the stuff in the OP. It's especially annoying considering smite spells don't have the 5' restriction. At least they work with reach weapons. Heck, I'm still not sure if you can use GFB to burn a secondary target that's 10' (or more) away from you because they didn't bother cleaning up that language.
Now, what I haven't seen people talk much about are the other changes.
Components: V, M (a melee weapon worth at least 1 sp)
And
You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting and make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you.
These changes do two things.
You can't use natural weapons with you blade spell (which is part of the ongoing problem with the name "weapon attack") and furthermore it also prevents using a focus to cast the spell so you can make a melee weapon attack with an improvised weapon. A method of attack that was admittedly sub-optimal and cumbersome in execution, but you cannot deny the appeal of using your flagon of ale to smack someone so hard that it lights them and their friend on fire.
In summary: These changes really don't do anything for the common person using the spell to magically stab people with their sword. It just messes up people having their goofy fun times with weird rules interactions.