I think it's actually pretty comparable. A B/X hobgoblin was the equivalent of a doable yet very tough matchup against a lvl 1 fighter. They did 1d8 damage base when in B/X all weapons did 1d6 by default. So they were pretty close to a lvl 1 fighter that had a STR and CON bonus. A 5e hobgoblin...
And they laid eggs and had scaly skin. Kobolds have been more draconic than dog-like since day 1. As you mention, somewhere they were described as "yipping" or "barking" and an artist took that to mean dog-like when they were never meant to be so.
Doesn't matter what the MM book description...
Our was actually the MU player thinking they were clever. We saw a hallway that appeared to be lined with small holes ala the intro scene in Raiders of the Lost Arc. The hallways went about 30 or 40 feet and turned left (out of sight). The player thought the hallway would keep going when it...
Say what you will about 4e, and I've said a lot, but it seems they really did try to address this issue with how they handled non-magical healing.
Armor was sure plentiful, but having a fighter with a high dex was very unlikely. You put your scores into STR or CON.
Also worthy of noting, the cleric was never meant to just be a heal bot. They are warrior priests, and undead hunters (Van Helsing). I know there is always pressure to turn them into healbots, but nothing says you have to play a cleric that way. As all of the NPC clerics in the modules...
Except they don't. Here's a list of all protection rings, cloaks, and bracers from the more popular modules. I excluded items belonging to playable NPCs or NPCs where it was unlikely the PCs would ever get them unless they went full murder hobo and killed everyone in town. The +3 items don't...