I apparently have to have specific attacks from specific frameworks regardles of my character concept or I'm useless.
Someone's been feeding you bullshit, then. To be effective, you need: An energy builder, a single target attack, an aoe attack, a slotted passive, a form toggle and a block power. And you ideally need all of these to have some sort of synergy. Taking fore form for example is going to do you no good if you have no attacks which do elemental damage. Energy unlock powers are also good if your framework of choice has one or your build can be made to use another framework's one.
Beyond that, it's a fairly similar difference to in CoH. Yes, someone who makes a ridiculously min/maxed build will perform better than someone who builds for concept. That's to be expected in any game, and CoH was no different in that regard. But a concept build works perfectly well, so long as you cover the basics as mentioned above. Active offenses and defenses are useful, if only as 'make me not held now' buttons at times, but you should in no way feel forced to take one or the other.
Also be aware many powers despite not strictly fitting concept, actually have no visible effects. Quarry in the archery framework for example, is usable on anything that does physical damage regardless of concept because the only visible effect it has is the buff icon under your name. Likewise most forms are the same, though some have an activation animation. And all energy unlocks share the same visual effect so which one you have isn't a big deal.
Try powers out in the powerhouse if you like the mechanics but aren't sure if you'll like or don't know what they look like, so if you decide against them you can respec out of them again free of charge so long as you don't leave the powerhouse after picking them.
Amusing sidenote: Dual Pistols is one of the best builds I've seen in this game, how weird is that.