Vasya11
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Heralds in Warlords of the Ancient Races (WOTAR) and even in the base game are already top-tier units for the Undead, on par with Necrodrakes. As for "changing the textures" – these abilities don't suit another visual style. Dragon perks (flight, incorporeality, protection from arrows, etc.) were specifically designed for dragons.
Maybe in the original game. But in WOTAR, these are completely different dragons. They've become a well-defined, unique, and unpleasant unit for the enemy, with very distinctive abilities for the Undead. I can't imagine anything else in their place.
It might still be unfinished, but with what I have, Heralds are in sixth place. Death Knights seem more suitable for that position in my opinion.
You're changing perks as you see fit, claiming they don't fit. While playing, I've seen many abilities taken from completely obscure units – like the "Fire Trap" ability on Zombies. Is it really that problematic to change the textures? It's not even necessary to make Heralds flying; you could just add a few extra movement points, for example.
And dragons are dragons, no matter what. They've become stale after so much time in gaming – they're shoved into every game possible. In general, the most logical thing would be to move them all to the neutral faction and significantly strengthen them. So that they inspire terror in small numbers, like the Azure Dragons in the third game, instead of dying with half a hit and flying in flocks of 20-100.
Added 3 minutes later
All 3 hero classes are purely combat-oriented.
If you're building a strategy around a specific unit, a specialist for that unit isn't necessary, and against a smart opponent, it's even undesirable, due to its predictability.
As for useless perks, that's subjective. There won't be objectively useless perks. Let's say you don't like Intelligence, but you need a specialist – what's so bad about that? The benefit is balanced by the cost (these subjectively unnecessary perks), which is what makes it more interesting than a hero who is unambiguously good with no possible alternatives. Plus, it's harder to force yourself to use unwanted perks than wanted ones – and that's a tactical advantage.
Furthermore, many specializations in Might and Magic V are unbalanced, and that's why heroes will be balanced by different skill builds and stronger or weaker perks.
It's difficult to discuss this now. You at least have an idea of how everything will be, but I have no idea. With what I have, all the perks are original, as are the heroes themselves. It would be helpful to see lists of the proposed changes with detailed descriptions of everything.