Looking at this from a commander perspective,it feels like a weaker Memnarch. Is there a better way to do that second ability?

Ferron is slower if all you're trying to do is steal permanents, but hardly feels worse overall. His first ability can help you or other players ramp or increase your artifact count, as well as set up lands to be stolen or blow up. His second ability can also be used to untap artifacts you already own, and untapping an artifact while stealing it is still pretty powerful. Most importantly, both Ferron and his abilities cost much less than Memnarch, so while he may be slower he comes down a lot earlier. From a commander perspective, the fact he's both blue and black is more of a positive than a negative. So I don't really see a problem with him, he's not as good at doing what Memnarch does, but he's fine at doing what he does.