Samurai vs. Shaman

I'm not at all familiar with the Shadowrun universe -- aside from a basic idea about the mix of fantasy and cyberpunk -- so when I started playing Shadowrun: Dragonfall, I looked over the available classes for something that would spark my interest. I opted for the shaman. The shaman was my favorite class in Fourth Edition D&D, despite its many drawbacks, so I thought it would be fun to try out a shaman in Shadowrun. Maybe it's just me, but the Shadowrun shaman seemed as underpowered as its 4e counterpart. I started the game over as a samurai, and the fights have been a lot easier!