a bard and healer can sit out of the fight and significantly alter it. even just one can.
i'd much rather face 3 or 4 melee chars that depend on mid-fight commands like assassin kick, circle, or warrior spec skills than characters that can alter the landscape of a fight before (prep), during (heal, recall), or after (heal for lightning fast reengagement).
again, i don't mind dying, or dying to bad odds, it was just so needlessly over the top all around. OMG, DEATHBLOW MIGHT HIT ME FOR CAPS DAMAGE. uh, ok, better get your friends and remove all risk.