They are going to be more useful, I have a player that has taken Truedive Shifter for the Savage Tide campaign I'm running and has hit a bit of a problem. With only the Races of Eberron and Eberron Campaign setting as sources his feat options are impossibly limited. Feats are probably the more precious resource a character gets as he only gets seven in total.
Then the Shifter feats have really tough requirements...
EXTRA SHIFTER TRAIT and SHIFTER DEFENSE both require two other shifter feats so can't be taken until 6th level.
REACTIVE SHIFTING requires Improved Initiative, so can't be taken until third but if you do take it then you push back when you can take Extra Shifter traint and (Greater) Shifter Defense. (I've house rules that you need improved initiative or Shifter Instincts).
Looking at the options I currently have a Truedive Shifter (or most none combat types)
1st level - TRUEDIVE (or shifter type) ELITE, HEALING FACTOR (Con 13+), SHIFTER FEROCITY (Wis 13+), or SHIFTER INSTINCTS
3rd level - add SHIFTER STAMINA (but only if you took Endurance as your 1st level feat), and REACTIVE SHIFTING (but only if you took Improve Initiative as your 1st level feat).
6th level - add SHIFTER DEFENSE and EXTRA SHIFTER TRAIT (but only if your 1st and 3rd were both shifter feats), so if you add those as options you have to effectively remove the two options you added at 3rd level.
9th level - no new feats available, unless you took EXTRA SHIFTER TRAIT then you get the ones based of that trait.
12th level - GREATER SHIFTER DEFENSE (but again only if you took Shifter feats every level).
Considering the earliest you can get GREATER SHIFTER DEFENSE is 12th level and you have to take all 4 other feats as Shifter feats and then have one of them just as a gateway feat, giving no future benifit it sort of sucks.