Not everything Pathfinder does is terrible. In fact, they have some nifty ideas. (The main problem is translating those ideas into mechanics.) Let's take the witch, for instance.
Child-Scent (Ex): The witch gains the scent ability, but only with respect to humanoid children and immature animals. Thus, she could sniff out a child’s hiding place or a den of wolf pups, but not the child’s parents or the den mother. Source: Ultimate Magic
Nails (Ex): The witch’s nails are long and sharp, and count as natural weapons that deal 1d3 points of damage (1d2 for a Small witch). These attacks are secondary attacks. If trimmed, the witch’s nails regrow to their normal size in 1d4 days. Source: Ultimate Magic
Poison Steep (Sp): The witch can use her cauldron to brew a foul toxin in which she can steep fruits and other delicious edibles, transforming them so that when eaten, they have the same effect as a poison spell. Brewing the toxin and then steeping the food takes 1 hour in total; steeping can affect up to 1 pound of food. The food is poisoned for 24 hours, and the poison cannot be transferred to other objects. The food tastes normal, but magic detects it as poisonous. The witch must have the cauldron hex to select this hex. Source: Ultimate Magic
Prehensile Hair (Su): The witch can instantly cause her hair (or even her eyebrows) to grow up to 10 feet long or to shrink to its normal length, and can manipulate her hair as if it were a limb with a Strength score equal to her Intelligence score. Her hair has reach 10 feet, and she can use it as a secondary natural attack that deals 1d3 points of damage (1d2 for a Small witch). Her hair can manipulate objects (but not weapons) as dexterously as a human hand. The hair cannot be sundered or attacked as a separate creature. Pieces cut from the witch’s elongated hair shrink away to nothing. Using her hair does not harm the witch’s head or neck, even if she lifts something heavy with it. The witch can manipulate her hair a number of minutes each day equal to her level; these minutes do not need to be consecutive, but must be spent in 1-minute increments. A typical male witch with this hex can also manipulate his beard, moustache, or eyebrows. Source: Ultimate Magic
Scar (Su): This hex curses a single target with horrible scars of the witch’s choosing, whether something as simple as a single letter on the target’s forehead or blotchy, burn-like scars on his body. The target may make a Will save to resist this hex. These scars do not hinder the target’s actions or abilities in any way. The witch can withdraw this hex from a target as a move action at any range. The number of supernatural scars the witch can maintain at once is equal to her Intelligence bonus; once she reaches this limit, she must remove the scar from a current victim in order to mark another. Effects that remove curses can remove the scar. Source: Ultimate Magic
Unnerve Beasts (Su): The target becomes offensive to animals (Will negates). Animals become distraught and aggressive in the victim’s presence—horses buck, dogs snap and bark, bulls charge, and so on. The hex lasts a number of hours equal to the witch’s Intelligence modifier. A creature that saves against the hex cannot be affected by the hex for 1 day. The reaction of the animals is a mind-affecting charm effect, but the hex on the target is not. Source: Ultimate Magic
Cook People (Su): The witch can create fabulous spells by cooking an intelligent humanoid creature in her cauldron, either alive or dead. Using this hex creates one meal or serving of food of the witch’s choice, typically a delicious stew or a dough suitable for cookies, pastries, or other desserts. Cooking the victim takes 1 hour. Eating the food provides one of the following benefits for 1 hour: age resistance [UM], bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, cat’s grace, eagle’s splendor, fox’s cunning, neutralize poison (instantaneous), owl’s wisdom, remove disease (instantaneous). Alternatively, the witch can shape the dough into a Small, humanlike creature, animating it as a homunculus for 1 hour. The witch must have the cauldron hex to select this hex. Using this hex or knowingly eating its food is an evil act. Source: Ultimate Magic
Hidden Home (Sp): The witch can conceal or disguise her home and the area around it as if using mirage arcana. Before using the hex, she must spend 1 day pacing out the border of an area that measures roughly 40,000 square feet (approximately 200 feet by 200 feet) to define her home territory. Thereafter, she can use the hex to change the appearance of that area as a standard action as long as she is within the area. The illusion persists until the witch changes or dismisses it. For the purpose of this ability, a witch can only have one “home” at a time. Source: Ultimate Magic
Summon Spirit (Sp): The witch calls forth the ghost of a humanoid creature with no more than 18 Hit Dice. The ghost has its own personality and desires, but is willing to bargain with the witch, as if she had cast greater planar ally. To seal an agreement with the witch, the ghost requires life energy equal to 1 temporary negative level (this is in addition to the standard payment for the ghost’s service). This negative level persists as long as the ghost remains in the service of the witch; the witch can end the agreement as a standard action, immediately removing the negative level. Source: Ultimate Magic
Witch’s Hut (Su): The witch can animate a hut, small house, covered wagon, tent, or similar construction as an animated object. The hut can be of up to Huge size (approximately 15 feet by 15 feet). The animated hut’s hardness increases to 8 and its hit points double. The witch can give the hut the following commands: guard (the hut watches for trespassers within 120 feet using the witch’s Perception modifier and screams if it spots any), hide (all entrances are hidden by illusory wall spells and locked with arcane lock), and move (moves at speed 60 on giant bird or bone legs as directed by the witch, even obeying commands such as “follow me from 100 feet away”). The hut remains animate for 24 hours, until she dismisses it or she animates another, at which time the hut stops where it is and reverts to its nonmagical state. Source: Ultimate Magic
Whether or not those are mechanically powerful abilities, they're all very cool and witch-y.
