What is old is new again my new friend. (We had fun on the defender Positron run on Sunday IIRC). Before sonic blast, water blast, power proliferation, there were a number of Dark/rad defenders in the Triumphant Defenders on live. I don't know why or how the popularity has dropped other than both the secondary and primary are tried and true powersets for defenders. I agree: I have not seen a lot of them on Homecoming. Too many Dark/seismic blast running around perhaps.
Congratulations on finding a defender combo of abilities that suits your tastes.