To be honest, I feel like it's a great idea...but maybe not for Taliyah.
The OP says her E feels underwhelming and doesn't fit her kit, and you say it lacks versatility, but lets try and look at it from a different angle. Her E literally controls the ground. Enemies that try to dash through it get punished. Enemies that mis-position and are knocked through it by your team are punished. It's a move that makes people think twice about continuing their engage...though I will agree the overall "threat" of it feels underwhelming. Riot could probably buff the damage a bit to make it more threatening, and nerf the damage on her Q or her W to compensate, but the ability itself actually fits her kit really well. It reminds your enemies that you control the ground they walk on.