Freezing, Stunning and Petrifying Touches are all "hard" CC, if they land then the enemy is shut down. Plus, the touch-range spells are pretty low-level and start out with a 100% chance to inflict a status effect, which means that can help to overcome enemy willpower later on.
As for being close range, I could spring for a single rank into Expert Marksman for Tactical Retreat, a lot of people do that. There are only a few touch-range spells, too, so if needed, I can fill up the rest of the spellbook with longer-range spells and some summons or buffs.
After I'm done with Under Siege, I might give this a try.
