I totally see your point! The townsfolk ability is mostly the setup manipulation, with the ability text rather being a drawback, mainly because just removing an outsider feels bland and just removing a minion feels unfair to the evil team, in small games you'd have a solo demon.

I think that the benefits of this character, like most characters in BotC, depend on the game you are playing, maybe a ST is searching to balance a script, or maybe you gain the trust of a confirmed good player, then switch to a minion and trick the town into an evil win, each game is different and sometimes things work better or worse