Indeed they probably built their pally somewhat poorly. The character creation is misleading though, suggesting int on the pal while it's by far their less useful stat.
Pallies shine as tanky damage dealers with 3 int, 3 perception and everything else maxed, with a good old 2H equiped. They're at their best in between the fighter and the rogue in terms of role.
IIRC it recommends perception, resolve, might - not int. I put my points into those 3 and didnt drop anything because i didnt realize i could. I have like 18 resolve and everything else is 14s or so.
You don't need great stats, you just need to build how you want to play.