Thanks to all for the responses! From the sounds of it, 4E wouldn't be for me. Which is surprising because we've had a number of LONG combats at our table (like seriously, dozens and dozens of rounds of combat spanning over 9 hours!) and frankly speaking I love combat.
I don't like the idea of limiting magical healing because it is external, not internal. You might not have much left in the tank, but that magic gives you more. Sure, with lots of healing in 5E you can exceed the total HP pool that healing surges would give in 4E, but it is at a cost beyond what the character is expending IMO. From the sounds of it, I think the tactical elements from 4E would have been nice to have in 5E, even if toned down so the game wouldn't drag maybe? Tactical options are definitely missing in 5E. There are things you can do, but they are less effective than just swinin' away!
I suppose, like every edition, 4E has bits and pieces that if they could have somehow been combined into 5E, they would make it better.
shrug For example, I
do like the idea of lower HP for an encounter, which you can bolster more in between, because it would make individual encounters more dangerous but allow you to keep your overall survivability high because you can replenish some before the next fight.
I am a big fan of removing HP bloat, however I would be willing to look at a system where HP was lower but had a "daily" pool you could draw on to recover. I think that is some of the idea behind healing surge, but the limit uses, etc. makes it less appealing. Maybe something where PCs had like half the normal HP, but after each fight you rolled half your HD and recovered that much (provided you had a short time to rest, like even five minutes or so?).
I'll have to look into this... I see a new house-rule possibly on the horizon.