I play a lvl 50 ill/empath troller for a long time now and I like it. For soloing illusion is great (with PA and Phantasm). When soloing the empath secondary is a great asset: you can buff your Phantasm with heals/fort/cm and let him do the "dirty" work. Elite boss no problem!
In teams the empath is highly appreciated. I prefer being the back-up healer with a good empath def doing the bulk of the healing. But, if the situation calls for it, I stick to heals/fort/cm/ra. Just finished Statesman TF, being the only reliable healer. Gameplay can be very exciting then: PA out, flash, blind, keeping peeps alive; never a dull moment!
Scitek (ill.empath troller)