I have a lot of focus on the Paladin as it was always one of my favorite classes. The role of the Holy Warrior, was something that was very appealing. The 5E rule changes have "diminished" the Paladin. It is no longer a special class that is hard to play due to stat restrictions and play limitations. Those were in place BTW to balance out the advantages of being a Paladin.
The whole concept of an "Oath" granting power to me seems a bit off. The Oath is not a higher power and thus has no power to grant, further the oath would not limit to specific powers if it is just unlocking hidden potential. The Paladin was always answerable to a higher call, the Oath was the commitment to a Higher Power that granted a boon to the person willing to do the work. A Paladin is in many ways a Warrior with a Cleric lite addition.
The same however can be said of Rangers which are the Paladin's of Nature, the Druid lite Warrior. Traditionally when a Paladin or a Ranger broke with their faith ( was not as simple as a mistake unless it was a pattern of bad mistakes) they lost that divine favor and became just a warrior. They could not buy their way back, they had to seek redemption and atone for their transgressions.
The oaths BTW fit with this approach as the Oaths can be attributed to specific Gods. The basic 5E rules leave them open because different game worlds handle Gods differently. In the Forgotten Realms the Gods are a major part of the lore and storylines, even the BG3 storyline. Yet instead of making the class fit within the lore as it always has the Devs basically neutered the class.
