I don't think shaman really needs a whole new bespoke mechanic to make the class interesting. I think the consume/debuff + attrition dot/healer archetype is already quite effective, adding totems or extra spells only weaken the identity of the class and causes even MORE overlap with enchanter.
From my perspective, the shaman "thing" is the dot/hot + buff/debuff role, and while I agree that a 12 second consume is mechanically uninteresting as well as overtuned, I think moving it to a 45 second cooldown was a bit heavy-handed, because a 12-second consume felt like "the thing", rather than the other visible aspects of the shaman kit, namely debuff/utility. Part of that is overlap with enchanters, and another part is having class identity strongly tied to a glorified mana potion.
Time will tell, but I think once the remaining deep dives are realized maybe we'll see a more clear-cut identity for shaman emerge in groups. Certainly, enchanters losing haste or slow would carve out a pretty big niche for us, which is why I am opposed to shaman having access to mez, even if you dress it up with a fancy spirit wolf.
That being said, I would still like to see consume offer more in the way of mechanical intrigue, because admittedly tracking a 45-second cooldown is (for me) the exact wrong balance between active/rotational and situational/emergency.
Wizards got glyphs, druids got seasons, and shamans got bandages.
