The H1 Elites were great because you couldn't stand toe-to-toe with them, but you could take them out in a heartbeat under the right circumstances. I probably wouldn't be a Halo fan if not for that. If they had made Elites simple bullshit bullet sponges like every shooter before it, I would have had no interest.

Making things harder by cranking up the HP of enemies is what I expect from lesser game studios. It's one shot, one kill, not three shots, one kill. If I have one precious plasma grenade in reserve, I should be able to count on it killing an Elite if I'm able to stick him. It was a fun resource-management meta game and it just hasn't been the same since the first game.