A Completely Hypothetical System (PEACH)

[nonsi]

I had a long post, but lost it.

Long story short, I'm considering cutting out any sort of spell that takes less than a minute to cast. So, that makes wizards a support role, not glass cannons.

Which feels much more 'right', I think. After all, that's the sort of role wizards almost always plays in myths and legends. It's the role that Gandalf and Merlin played; the two most famous wizards that D&D wizards can't properly emulate.

Don't get fixated on niches.
Gandalf was only a part mage. He was also a fierce combatant. Also Middle Earth settings has no clear distinction between class and race (mortal men could never rise to Gandalf's power there).
As for Merlin - he was a utility mage. That's legit, but shouldn't be imposed.

OTOH, I totally agree that D&D spellcasters are way too powerful in combat and have too many offensive options.
This seems like a decent baseline for level of power to start from.
Being somewhat familiar with eftexar's power-level preferences, I suggested the spell-knowledge repertoire given there, but I'd personally give it a bit more.
I'd also make each Esoteric Academia grant a free spell that doesn't count toward the Spells-Known limit.
I'd also allow trading Infusion feats for spells, so that players that prefer versatility over raw power could also have their way.
Lastly, I prefer an hourly mana-pool recovery (even if partial), since it's very thematic that a mage needs to rest after concentrated spell effort before s/he can make another concentrated spell effort (and I strongly oppose the 15-min-workday approach).