So far I'm thinking that replacing this with studied target that I can use all I want seems to be a better option as I also get a small amount of sneak attack and a slayer talent at 8th level. This is a PFS character so I'm not looking at the stuff after 12.
Or I could get a swank animal companion who shares my teamwork feats instead of judgement which also sounds cool.
Am I being shortsighted with these two options?
I agree with your sentiments. I think I'd trade it away for something more usable, and both the "slayer" and "hunter" archetypes I feel are better.
The damage judgement scales a bit faster than Studied Target and can do a lot more than just attack and damage (which is the majority of Studied Target, the skill bonuses are meh).
Judgements can give fast healing, help to overcome spell resistance, bonus to AC, bonuses to Saves...
It's very versatile and powerful. Especially as you gain the ability to maintain more and more judgements at the same time.
That being said, if you are only interested in attack and damage the unlimited use of Studied Target isn't a bad trade off. It's one I would probably make because I don't like limited use abilities too much.
Judgement is far more versatile. Remember that when you activate it, you're not stuck with one option for the whole combat. You can turn on Fast Healing if you're injured, damage if yo need to take someone ddown, Saves if you catch a caster's attention, and so on.
That said, I was playing a Sanctified Slayer, and Favored Target is a very nice ability. I think it's a trade, really. Do you just want the boost to hit/damage in every combat, with an extra Feat at 8th? Favored Target works quite nicely.
Sneak Attack is a non-factor most of the time, so ignore that.
Likewise the Animal Companion option can be very good.
It's really a matter of preference. No one option stands out as wholly better or worse than the others.
There is an action economy issue as well. I recently played my first game with my Inquisitor retrained to Sactified Slayer, and more often than not I ended up without Studied Target because I was already engaged in melee, and was better off making a full attack to get my secondary bite than spending a move for just +1's.
Hm, I suppose I was looking at the optimal circumstance for Studied target, that being study, shoot, drop bow, charge. I also thought if I manage to get enough feats opening volley would be a plus.
One thing you are forgetting about judgments is that they are sacred/profane bonuses which means they stack with just about anything. The thing that makes the inquisitor powerful is the ability to stack bonuses. The Inquisitor is one of the few classes that can have a moral bonus, sacred bonus and a luck bonus all going at the same time from class abilities alone.
There is an action economy issue as well. I recently played my first game with my Inquisitor retrained to Sactified Slayer, and more often than not I ended up without Studied Target because I was already engaged in melee, and was better off making a full attack to get my secondary bite than spending a move for just +1's.
I disagree. ESPECIALLY once Bane comes into play.
Swift action Bane, Move action Studied Target, and you're adding somewhere between +4 to-hit and 2d6+4 damage and +7 to-hit and 4d6+7 damage to each strike.
Alternately, you can activate one as a Swift action, and the other as a Swift next round.
I had an inquisitor player in my most recent game (levels 1-17) and judgement was extremely versatile and useful. I doubt I'd ever want to swap it out, personally, unless I was getting something completely absurd in exchange.