That. Was. Awesome.

Our progression raid team has cleared the first 3 bosses of S&V Hard Mode! Looks like we'll have another month before new content hits to get through it.

Pillars of Ashla's raiders have cleared level 55 TFB HM. No, we're not the first, so why is this a big deal? We raid differently than most guilds. We don't set teams more than one raid at a time, so everyone gets a chance to get in on the game's more challenging PvE content. That means it will often take longer for us to get through content than a hardcore progression group, but it also means that everyone gets a chance to participate. No one has to get sidelined or feel compelled to rearrange their lives around raiding. If you ask me, that's a great trade-off.

Yes. You're expecting that to happen at level 26 - I'm reasonably sure the OP was talking about higher-level fights once your character's power selection and gear have matured. Wait until you get Doc as a companion and then you'll at least have the staying power to finish a fight like that.

Offhand damage is essentially a damage buff. Making it stack with other damage buffs (Strength, Power, etc.) would stray into OP territory.

Nothing wrong with that theory, but I survived much better with T7 in practice. YMMV.

Played a Sentinel up to 50, so I thought I'd throw my $0.02 in. For the most part, I agree with the OP. The class takes a good deal of micromanagement to play well, but it pays off if you can manage it. This is especially true after level 40ish when you get to the top of your chosen tree, but the other big hurdle for me was waiting to get a healer companion, which probably should happen earlier. In fact, that's the biggest problem the class has during low levels IMO - you have two companions to choose from, one of which is also damage-oriented (which you don't need) and the other is a mediocre tank. Neither gives you much additional staying power in a fight, so it's on your shoulders to finish enemies off as quickly as possible. By the time I got to 30, most fights generally went something like: Send T7 in. Force leap. Killkillkillkill while T7 hurdles unswervingly towards another faceplant. Rez T7. Basically, experience suggests that the problem with Sentinels in the mid-range levels isn't with them, but their companions. Best advice I can give those having problems with their Sentinels: decide if the micromanaging is for you. If not, go make a Trooper or Guardian (or whatever).