I prefer Lina's chargers to the dragon's mana orb because she put out several of them: each of several units could potentially move an extra hex, or one unit several extra. Some times, just that one extra little bit of move is what you need. (Mind you, there are times when getting that extra TWO hexes from the dragon make all the difference...
I also prefer having Time Back as a rage ability, because having to cast a spell to do it eats up the spell for that turn. What if I want to Sacrifice + Time Back in the same turn? Whoops, can't. Or Time Back and then Haste? Can't do that, either. Or...
But overall I agree: different tools with different capabilities in different games. They both work out.