Herding is not dead. It's just nerfed. Now if you wanna herd, go get another tanker to come with you. Thats 34 you can pull now. Or 2 tankers....
As for taking down AV's while you have 17 mobs on you... think again. If you actually read the post regarding the change, minions will give up their agro to lt's and bosses. So if you run into 17 groups, you'll probably end up with 17 bosses chasing you... not 17 minions. A boss will give up his agro to an AV. So herding ain't dead... you just get to herd the big boys and leave the minions in their spot.