Um, you do realize that a lot of this is army dependant right? I mean, an army of level 5 units gets a whole lot more out of fear than one with level 3's in it.
Also, lets not compare how well a spell works against an opposing army of only melee units, since a LOT of spells will lock that particular guy down. Also take into account class.
Phantom's strength is based on two things: The leadership of the stack, and the intelligence of the hero. Since warriors have twice the leadership (roughly) of mages, their phantoms (without summoning) are twice the size, before intelligence is considered. Mage has to get a lot of int and other skills to get anywhere near what the warrior gets out of this spell.
Fear on the other hand is a control spell that will lock down a unit from attacking for most of the game. For a smaller army, this can often be more important than doing more damage. It also prevents a hero from casting, if his only stacks are feared. Also, don't compare a single phantom to a single fear, but rather a pair of fears, since a mage can cast it twice. They are both good spells to be sure.
Just because a spell worked great in one particular run-through doesn't mean it is 'overpowered' in all of them, since army makeup, items, and class changes between them.
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