The best replacement for powershell is vbscript.

The best alternatives to powershell are rated as following:
★★★★★  vbscript
★★★  bash
★★★  cmd
★★  batch
★★  command prompt
★  perl
★  cygwin
★  autoit
★  batch files
  powershell ise
  wsh
  wmi
  command line
  vbs
  cmd.exe
  shell scripting
  if
  stsadm
  cmd prompt

Your alternative for powershell is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about powershell, one probably shouldn't forget about parameters.

Other search terms related to powershell and their ratings are:
★★★★★ parameters
★★★★★ gui
★★★ sccm
★★ console2
★★ active directory
You have in mind a companion for powershell and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of powershell in all years. Click on graph for more.
powershell
vbscript
bash