Yea, I'm gonna have to agree with the general trend here and admit that I've never taken an adrenal pump for any character ever. And honestly, I can't remember the last time a player of mine did either. I think the #1 issue is that the damage is unresisted. If you were allowed a Body + Willpower roll to soak it, even if it was an unaugmented (natural stats only) soak roll, it would make the thing worth it to a limited degree. Personally though it would still be a "last choice" for ware because it's so expensive essence wise.