So you're saying each bullet should be fatal? That's how I played Deus Ex (1), but DX1 was a very different game to a modern action RPG (though, it was one as well). Easy and Hard meant your weapons did more or less damage than the enemy. Medium meant it was equal, and Realistic meant it was equal, but each hit mattered more. You could get hit once, maybe twice, but not three times without healing. Also, headshots were lethal. They tell you headshots are lethal, but if you're playing on anything but realistic... they're not. ("And remember JC, a headshot is a lethal takedown." Lies!) So, I knew where the enemies were, and I didn't get hit. You can't really play that way in Fallout, especially during the bigger battles. You're going to get hit, a lot, and you're supposed to make it to the end somehow. So the player gets a little bullet spongey, and depending on the setting, the enemies may be, too.
You may not be the first to criticise the gunplay, but a lot of people also do like the gunplay, so I guess it's a fair point either way and a matter of what you like. I just hadn't heard much from the other side.