OP said "just as effective as a normal grenade in some ways and better in others". If we're not talking about effectiveness of grenades in terms of squad wipes then I don't really know how else you'd want to compare them.
The only distinct occurance where any grenades are effective in terms of squad wiping is when thrown in a retreat path to my experience. And that's a quite rare occurance. Denying cover, forcing repositions, clearing garrisons, damaging enemies in shootout fights and combinations of these are how grenades are used, not primary to get a lucky squad wipe (which extremely rarely happens against a decent opponent).
The incendiary grenade is in most cases better than a normal nade at garrison clearance and denying cover, while in some cases being worse or on par with other nades at damaging enemy squads in a shootout. That's how I interpret what OP was referring to by "just as effective as a normal grenade in some ways and better in others".
And I still think the incendiary grenade is quite fine. It feels natural to compare it to the molotov, but I think the problem doesn't lie with the incendiary grenade but rather with the molotov being a victim to the powercreep that's been happening overall.