Oh, in general, I'm talking purely mechanically. In-game, there's no large mechanical difference between a fighter and an OA samurai, and the CW samurai gets abilities perhaps more suited to a prestige class than a base class (the "intimidating warrior" kind of thing doesn't need 20 levels, and shouldn't be exlcusive purview of one class). Flavor wise, I can make a cleric, paladin, fighter, bard, or ninja who acts like a samurai, wears heavy armor, and rides around on a horse. If the class isn't going to give me anything new and impressive mechanically, why allow it when nearly the same thing can be accomplished by the rules as they exist? And if it does give me something new and impressive mechanically, is it enough to justify the class's existence? For the Hexblade and the Swashbuckler, the answer is yeah, for the Samurai...nnnnope.
Considering I can't really make a courtly warrior out of a core fighter (short of a very much less than optimal multiclass with Aristocrat), there is no way that a samurai is "just a fighter." It is expedient and necessary to trade feat progression for skills in order to realize the archetype.
Indeed, the OA samurai is more powerful over the course of 20 levels than a Ftr/Ari that is evenly distributed, but, honestly, the 'noble warriors' who have levels IMC only take 1-3 levels of Aristocrat to accentuate their skill base (already widened with feats like Skill Focus and Cosmopolitan), without hurting anything other than one feat and their Fort save. They don't need a Knowledge (nobility) skill rank of 10 or higher to feel like they know about nobility. They're adventurers. If they were kings, they'd be mostly aristocrats with a few levels of Fighter, or Bard. And don't dismiss the Fighter/Lawful-Bard combo for a courtly warrior, either. The spells and musical effects need to be run through the flavor-wringer (casting them as words and statements and proclimations with magical effect, and courtly tricks taught to the nobles), but it comes out astonishingly well for the wear.
And then there's the Paladin. Though they don't have many skill points, the ones they do have can be used quite effectively as a warrior of nobility, and what fits the concept of a high-ranking lord better than a class with a built-in code of conduct? Use some of the ideas to diversify fighters (e.g.: Bard or Aristocrat mutliclass for a few levels), and you've got all the noble knight representation you need.
Add in certain skills, feats like Skill Focus, and a good Charisma stat, and you've got yourself a courtly warrior who just needs a Leadership feat to make themselves a minor noble with a court....
So what's the beef with it this way? Especially if you keep some of the OA samurai PrC's, or other knightly-style PrC's (such as cavalier, knight-defender, etc.)
