i don't see a huge issue making this card a 1/1, and it means it's not useless on its own which is never a good thing for a card to be

That would be too good for a 1 drop. This card is meant to go in a CMC 1 artistry constructed deck, and thus doesn't want to be more expensive. I have done paper playtests, and in my original draft environment it was quite playable. I may, however have to rework it, since I'm keeping less than half of my original designs. I do, however, still have more to import.