Looks like Eld Smite can use 5th level slots, while Pally can't.
You're not thinking large enough, a Sorlock can't burn his
9th level Slots on Eldritch Smite with this nerf. He could have nerfed it by saying it's supposed to be capped at 5d8 and the upcoming Errata will correct it but, specially given Oath of Conquest's deal, he must really like the idea of Paladins being a nova dip.
I suppose a Life Cleric dip could get the #'s up quite tasty,
I think you're better off imaging the full ramifications of the ability.
Disciple of Life
Also starting at 1st level, your healing spells are more effective. Whenever you use a spell of 1st level or higher to restore hit points to a creature, the creature regains additional hit points equal to 2 + the spell’s level.
So, does this ability apply once per Spell?
Plaguescarred: Hola gents! Quick question, does Discipline of Life works on Goodberry granting every goodberry additional HP?
Jeremy Crawford: I would allow it.
No, a Life Domain Cleric with Magic Initiate can provide +3hp per Goodberry or up to +30hp/slot and that is all the better it gets.
Now then.
In addition. if you cast a spell using a spell slot that restores hit points to any creature inside or outside the aura, each creature of your choice in the aura also regains hit points equal to your druid level.
So, does this ability apply once per Spell?
If so, well... Given that the Adventurer's League uses 3~7 man parties a third level Druid can use his Aura and cast Goodberry, each member gains +3hp from the aura and they can still recover using the berries for a total of +31hp/slot. It will continue to get even higher than that, up to 150hp/slot. Even in small parties, Healing Word in the hands of a Life Cleric is 1d8+Mod+2 but a third level Druid gets 1d8+Mod+3 to one target and lots of +3s to everyone else making it unmatchable.
But what if it's supposed to apply like Jeremy says Disciple of Life does? Imagine if a Druid casts Healing Spirit using a 2nd level Slot to try to heal up to to 1d8+20hp, to each party member, for each round, for nine rounds, using nothing but his Bonus Actions. You'd wasting useful Druid progression to dip Cleric for a measly +3 bonus in my opinion.