Good point. I'm convinced.
A standard revenant gains +4 Strength and +2 Charisma. Since this isn't a template, that isn't infinitely useful other than to show us what abilities we might wish to focus on.
Other abilties of standard revenants:
- Turn immunity
- immune to acid, gas, cold, electricity, and polymorph
- fast healing 3
- DR 5/magic
Plus, these special abilities:
Paralyzing Glare (Ex): The first time a revenant confronts its killer, the latter must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the revenant's Hit Dice and/or levels + the revenant's Charisma modifier) or be paralyzed for 2d4 rounds.
Vengeful Strike (Ex): Any melee attack the revenant makes against its killer inflicts an additional +1d10 points of damage.
Find the Guilty (Ex): So long as the revenant and its killer are on the same plane of existence, the revenant knows in which direction its killer can be found and how far away he or she is. Depending on the magical abilities of the base creature, this extraordinary sense may even be made to work across planar boundaries.