Aether is a little low on damage, but high on utility. It could definitely be handy in the right party for Hell's Rebels. Is your vigilante going more towards the rogue or fighter side of things?
The aether utility and the "rogue" utility will overlap in some places. That's not to say you shouldn't do it, but it could cut into your party role.
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I haven't played your AP but I played an aether kineticist in curse of the crimson throne. It did utility super well and did amazing damage. Empowered foe throw at mid level really kicks up the damage. At higher levels empowered and maximized blasts or walls bring lots of damage. When quicken blast kicks in you can ride the blast(aether only) into melee for lots of fun.
Edit: at one point I was to TK hauling a guillotine around for intimidation.
I'm pretty sure aether is the one blast that can't "ride the blast".
You can use this wild talent as part of activating a kinetic blast other than telekinetic blast.
The "problem" with the damage is that it's pretty set in stone. There are almost no options outside of the class for increasing it. It has what's known as a high floor and a low ceiling, because it's super easy to make a strong one, but there isn't much you can do to make it any stronger than that. If you were to compare its damage per round to most good archer builds, you'd see that it's damage is on the low side.
But the utility can be super high depending on how creative you are and how far your DM will let you go with abilities like telekinetic haul and finesse.
You’re one of the few characters who can walk around unarmed without drawing attention, so that’s pretty nice. But being sneaky is where you really excel. Ranged door opening and distracting with at will invisibility.
Although there's a surprising amount of combat, there's still plenty of opportunities for social and intrigue, so don't neglect having at least one good social skill so you can contribute in those scenes. I think TK would be a great class to bring to this AP, the invis and mobility should open up some options, and the combat is strong and special enough to keep you relevant throughout. I'm jealous, having fun with my Strix Cleaner but TK would've been glorious.. think I'll build one as a backup, just in case..
The only kineticist that has real problems in Hell's Rebels is the pyro (since it is a campaign that centers around its bane- the non fire subtype but fire immune devils).
Aether is fair enough for damage and has plenty of other tricks (flight, maneuvers, invisibility for scouting, etc).