User blog comment:Njalm2/The Beauty of Kidō/@comment-18812574-20141202075720/@comment-3403804-20141202083832

In regards to Kido being a deus ex machina, I'd think that's rather unfair to be honest. There's so many real deus ex machina in Bleach it's not funny. Kyouka Suigetsu and the Hougyoku stand out. Oh, and the time Ichigo mysteriously became a Quincy out of the blue, just in time to spontaneously manifest Blut Vene to save himself from Yhwach's attack. Despite the fact that as Ichigo is a Gemincsht Quincy, he'd be unable to use it without some serious effort, the manga basically stated that much. The examples you provided was merely Bakudo spells doing what they're intended for.

And yes, I'd definitely suggest spicing up Takashi's Kido Prowess, do know that if you intent to do that, you're better served by a long paragraph than a few short sentences. Kido is about detail after all. There's a thousand reasons to spice up his Kido, but one of the most immediately recognizeable is how it allows him to deal with Arrancar and makes him much more useful as an Officer. He should be able to cast spells like Tenteikura and Kakushitsuijaku at the very least, being a master swordsman is unlikely to get you a Lieutenant position on it's own. You could also make him a healer, that'd be interesting, and make him immediately useful to Byakuya at all times.

In regards to Ichigo, Kido would definitely do the trick, as seen by how often Aizen managed to foil Ichigo with Kido over the course of the story. But it's ironic though, because in the FC, Grimmjow is most probably the one who ends up doing him in, and he possesses no skills in Kido whatsoever.