Meepo, ironically, died a brutal albeit funny death in one of our games a long time ago. Better to be remembered for a good death than a bad one! Even still, better not to die from that orc. There has to be a chance he will kill you, otherwise they aren't scary. I yearn for a game where it's not just an attrition war, some swinginess bring excitement to the game, "edge of your seat" is the phrase that comes to mind. I remember in my 4e games, virtually all the PCs took offensive feats rather than defensive ones, and we still never died.
But I do agree with AD&D HP were too low, it was a bit too swingy. 3e tried to fix it but then the math was busted at higher levels. Damage scaling means that the tough monster you're up against, if you're bloodied, you will fight more defensively or maybe even retreat. After a few dead PCs, you will learn! It'll be exciting and fresh, to have the players have the fear of their beloved PCs dying in them. Makes escaping with the rubies and gold totem and spears flying at your back really great, Indiana Jones style. "Whew, that was close. But we made it out alive! We'll be the talk of the town" is a lot more exciting than "uhhh, ok guys that was a real grind. let's rest up and go back in the dungeon in 5 minutes for the next encounter and get it over with. Surge up. I still have 2 dailies left, how about you?"
It's this expectation that encounters are "balanced" that is what's wrong here. I don't want balanced worlds, with yellow brick roads and clear level ranges for the creatures we're up against. I don't want the DM to think, is it too tough to put this dragon in here? The PCs will expect to fight it, so it's unfair to put in a colossal red dragon who could sneeze and turn them to ash". I want PCs to walk around on their tippie toes! Or they will end up elf pudding or some giant's tooth picks. There can be no real bravery when the game meta factor in to your every decision. The world doesn't feel alive then, it feels scripted. Even if it's dynamic, even with the best DM, I've only had to run maaaaybe twice, with several DMs. Because you do often hear at the table, "nah, the DM wouldn't put a paragon-level creature at us, we can't even hit it let alone beat an entire dungeon with those". I want monsters to be tough, and occasionally kick the Pcs butts. Then when you re-roll the PCs next of kin to come back and reclaim their honour, it's got meaning. Not always succeeding, and sometimes getting crushed in spectacular and brutal ways, is precisely what makes D&D, D&D.
It's like the original Prince of Persia. Still the best game of the series IMO (I worked on a few of them). It was simply shocking the suddenness of the way that traps would kill you. Really made you jump off your seat sometimes. I don't want / need carebear adventures.