I've seen many posts detailing many great ideas how the Mount & Weapon options can be improved.
HOWEVER, Doesn't it make sense that a Paladin's powers would directly reflect the interests/Domains of their Patron Diety? Wouldn't a Paladin of a God of Strength embody Strength more than a Paladin of Diety of Light? Wouldn't a Paladin of a Diety of Magic embody Magic itself more than other Paladins?
So perhaps like the Druid, one of their options could be, in lieu of Holy Companion or Holy Weapon, to gain Domain Powers as a Cleric of their Level. I would even give them 2 Domains, unlike a Druid taking that option. Including this option takes VERY little space, because it just references the Cleric Domain Abilities. Win/Win, in my book.
The idea seems strange to me, quandary. I'm all for making the paladin more effective, but it seems strange.
I understand that the cleric of the older versions of the game was a Catholic Priest with some spells, since he couldn't even use a slashing weapon. Now in the 3rd edition, he is more like a priest of a varied god (the mace and heavy armor are still there, but they, just using the weapon of your deity makes for a more memorable cleric).
But the paladin still seems to me very attached to the idea of White Knight, of Mortal Archon or something like that. Maybe paladins of different deities should gain other things...but... Quandary, do you know when you read something, you agree to the reasoning, understand the rules and find them balanced, but you can't say yes? So, this is it.