I don't know why anyone would use the poleaxe over a long bardiche though...if anything needs a buff it's the poleaxe (and maybe some of the other higher tier poleaxes).
The normal Poleaxe can rear horses. The Long Bardiche cannot.
The normal Poleaxe has one of the best thrusts out of all polearms. The Long Bardiche has a comparatively weak thrust.
The normal Poleaxe has, as of this patch, a secondary mode that is quite good. The Long Bardiche has no secondary mode.
The normal Poleaxe is quite expensive to use constantly, especially if you like wearing heavier armors. The Long Bardiche is very cheap for what it brings to the table, and you should make quite a bit of money using it with anything other than a tincan loadout.
The last point is why I personally use the Long Bardiche over any of the poleaxes when I play my polearm character, but that does not mean that the normal Poleaxe is weak.
It is the only weapon in the game that can simultaneously rear horses, knockdown targets, and break shields with ease. It definitely does not need any buffs, although I wouldn't nerf it either considering it no longer has polestagger, isn't an especially good 1v1 weapon, has a high upkeep, and doesn't do any of the things it does better than weapons specifically geared at rearing horses, knocking down targets, or breaking shields. It's a jack-of-all-trades utility weapon, which is what it should be.