Oh they do count, as you can see in my screen shot, it says 21. Bonus medals are to compensate for the quick end to the match. I would have had 300k/50k, i do it a lot. Want to see a screen of 22, i know there is one out there.
Zero deaths, 15-16 medals on defense, then turned around and won Voidstar in under a min. I capped the door which got me another medal. Done better?
http://s63.photobucket.com/albums/h160/specialk5269/?action=view¤t=21medals.png
Even if all the data in the world showed the damage that melee does is greater than range (most cases is true) you cant raid with all melee... You need ranged dps like you need healers and tanks. So if anything comparing ranged to melee dps is a moot point. Compare ranged to other ranged.
If you are spec'd 8/6/27 or a variation of assualt and can manage your energy then yes you are a viable DPS'r.
We are working on HM-EC and we tested our DPSrs against one another on a dummy using MOX parser and my assualt dmg was equal if not better than my equally geared counterparts (Commando, Shadow, and Gunslinger)