Don't think anyone was EVER suggesting it should be an EPIC feat... and Dwarven Defender can take a 5' step once per round without breaking the stance, provided they are class level 8 or higher.
I think someone on an IRC net I frequent briefly suggested to me somewhere that allowing the 5' step might be something good as a second feat in the chain, but when they remembered the 8th level thing they said "nah, that is silly".
The other thing I might allow is a 5' step to block a charge... they could alter course and go around you, but that makes it a move+attack on their original target and you get the AoO on them. Alternatively, they could change the target of the charge to you. In either case it would be an improvement for the squishy wizard you are protecting... what do people think?
Edit: Went ahead and put in the rule about Dwarven defenders.