If I'm trying to get good with a pistol, then I'm trying to get good at every aspect of the game. Keep in mind that every character needs to be able to fight effectively, and this goes double for Engineers since they're designed to go into enemy buildings. If I'm going to do that, I'd like to have an option to defend myself as opposed to hoping that I don't get caught, or hoping that my bodyguard(s) aren't terrible. As it stands, while you can use the pistol in combat, you're ultimately better off with just about anything else. I don't want to see the pistol become completely useless just because "you're supposed to repair."