Yeah Martydom is viable all the way to Havoc 40 even without anyone providing golden toughness. The buffs it gives, paired with the other defensive talents Zealot has means that once you get good enough with it, it can be very strong and help off meta weapons preform well.
If I want to torture myself it’s how I run Shock Maul in Havoc 40 (looking forward to the buffs it’s getting).
Honestly, and it is a skill issue, in Havoc (not auric) I prefer it a lot more than Inexorable. While Inexorable is really fun in melee I’ll proc Until death by some gunner or reaper I didn’t see, and have to play around the same health pool as if I was running Martydom anyways, without the extra protection against shooters.