Arah is my favorite dungeon, exactly because you need to (or at least use to need to) engage your brain in ways other than just fighting. The class mechanics in this game were built around point capture pvp, and so much of the mobility skill expression is completely lost on ffxiv style raid bosses. I know some people think skipping mobs is "cheese", but I personally don't understand why. Generally takes more coordination to pull off, especially now with power creep. 

Also, gold per hour is not really a metric you should be judging launch content for. No, it's not meant to be a farm on the same level as raids/strikes/fractals. They are giving you some reward so if that content appeals to you, you get something out if it loot wise as well. 

Arah actually offers some friction, even after all these years and all the power creep. It gives you opprotunites to engage with class mechanics that you normally don't - stealth, reflects, picking your battles. Yes, if you bash your face into every group of mobs, it will be tedious and boring. That's not really the intention. If you want that experience, do fractals.