Is this about the gigantic-gun wielding Samurai, or the Lone Swordsman from the beta? Mindshred's post got me confused.
If it's about the "normal" Samurai, I've used it all of once in a Shenlong beta game, and even though it ended ignominiously (Red Joker one shot from Mancha Roja) it wasn't a bad model.
The gun can be great if you know the Black Joker is out of the way. Great range, lots of to hit, fair damage, good trigger; all for a (1) action. You need to pick your targets kind of carefully, but it does help against a more horde-y type of enemy crew, where the average Df is probably going to be lower anyways.
Melee is solid. The damage output isn't high, but ignoring Armor is very nice to have when you need it.
Its also decently durable with Armor +2 base, though his Wds total is a little lower because of it. With the increased healing coming to 10T in Wave 2, I think they could be pretty durable in the right circumstances.
It's a pretty flexible model, though you pay for that flexibility in SS cost and with the unreliability of the Shoulder Gatling (at least he doesn't sacrifice himself anymore if he misses.) I'm interested in trying it out in more crews, though I kind of want to wait until I get the actual model before messing around with it much more.