The more I've played the Eldritch Knight, the more I think it's pretty strong. Not only are there great items in the game for the class, but having access to some of the spells is solid.
Shield alone is a great feature. Even if the class only had shield, it'd be tempting, imo.
The biggest drawback to the Eldritch Knight--in my estimation--is the sheer number of scrolls in the game. There are so many that it's not like your battlemaster can't cast spells all the time if they want to.
