While it's true bushido doesn't offer as much for ranged combat as melee, there are a few handy abilities you dont want to overlook:
Confidence is a very handy heal, especially on an archer variant that doesn't have room for healing. My whammy has both and I probably use confidence to heal more than my bandages, kiting things around and not getting hit means you can take full advantage of that initial bonus hp regen.
Lightning strike is a fairly good alternate to switch ti between AI's, and with high skill the critical hits add a reasonable bit of extra damage.
Momentum strike can make up for some of archery's lack of area attacks, especially if you only need to get in 1 or 2 hits.
Definitely not game changing but helpful nonetheless, I'm just saying, like parry, nominal skill isn't the only way to roll.
A melee archer has always seem like a fun temp that would keep your fingers busy, but do you prefer macing to swords for any significant reason, other than being easy to scroll? I'm all for deviating from the overwhelming majority, just curious lol!!