For one I don't disagree with your point that a missed bash can give you up to 3 direct damage opportunities. I've got plenty of kills as a lowbie invoker or transmuter from enemies who bash me.
But against a skilled basher, you can't imagine that he won't cover your direct damage with gear (physical DD is generally low, so it's spells which are the threat) and preps.
Bash is a very, very good skill in a smart player's hands. Even sub-optimal bash (non-Greeting giant) is a very good skill which can potentially score kills you otherwise won't get against SKILLED players. Those skilled people know how to flee when in trouble, so that ability to potentially concatenate 2 bashes (4 rounds) of melee damage plus one direct damage (flurry, etc.) at the end is very potent indeed.
Good bashers only use the potential of RNG-killing you without your having any chance of survival when it counts. If you meet a basher sword spec who whittles you with jab, etc., you have to be on alert for your sudden and unstoppable death once he does land 2 good bashes and a doublethrust/flurry. So either you outmelee him (so that 2 bashes count for nothing) or you negate the bash. Enlarge or even reduce-flee-enl-enl is not enough, because good bashers always consider you before they bash unless they are sure of your size (i.e. you didn't flee since they last checked your size in melee).
Trip is also good but in a different way - it's good when you wait to INITIATE with it when they are trying to run from you or run towards you. That way you can permalag with their spam - this is more likely if your enemy has a slow connection since slow connections often have commands in their buffer (or they'd move too slowly otherwise).
Cranial is an amazing, beautiful skill.
Generally lag skills are very high-threat and can take down even skilled players. Lag skills are a subset of kill-sealing skills, alongside sleep/insta-kills, flee-prevention, extreme burst damage skills. I would seriously hate to play an invoker without Rain of Stones and Quicksand.