a) Detect Evil at will is not a problem when Undetectable Alignment exists. It is primarily a supernatural sense that allows you to determine if a threat is in the immediate area or behind that next door in the dungeon. It's not going to catch the Assassin sneaking into your bedroom or foil the BBEG of the campaign unless the DM is terrifically stupid. Anyone with UMD and the ability to buy a wand or who can hire a 2nd level Bard henchman can be immune to the effect all day, every day.
The skeletons and zombies over there aren't going to bother with such things though, and neither are the unrepentant ravaging evils that don't care if they get found out (your average Balor, Blackguard, etc).
If using a spell like that to balance another spell feels contrived to you, I don't know what to tell you - there are plenty of examples of spell / counterspell couplings: Shield and Magic Missile; Scry and Scry Trap, etc.
b) I concur that there are a lot of empty levels, even if Smite Evil and Lay on Hands and your mount are all steadily improving.
I would suggest pushing the class the direction of the Cavalier / Knight, with things like bonus feats for mounted combat and the ability to take damage for allies, whether magical (Shield Other?) or more conventional (Warder, Bodyguard, Knight, Knight Protector, etc).
c) Alternatively, we already have the Aura of Courage, so other such auras and "leadership bonus" notions are desirable.