>Thieves are an RPG staple. They should not be niche.

Agree on the first. Not the second. In almost every fantasy setting where I've encountered them, thieves are niche. They're not great in melee by design; they're fragile and rely on stealth. That's their "thing".

>stealing isn't all that fun and I only use it if it's tactical
> stealing a boat, return potion) for the most part.

I'm the same. Steal potions, boats, cabal items, and occasionally other gear if it's a clear upgrade to what I'm wearing.

>risking your life. Failed WBBJ, BJ, garotte can mean you die.

Yep. That's part of being a thief. In some cases it won't be worth the risk to try to KO certain characters. I'm more or less okay with that. If you could try to blackjack any build in the game with very little risk then that would be kind of OP, don't you think?

>I'd rather lose steal all together...

"Thief" class that can't actually steal? Seems kind of weird.