Monster Damage: What am I missing?

[Shroomy]

I just took a gander at Bahamut's dragon form stats and he has three breath weapons all of which can be used as a minor action! To make matters even more interesting, each breath weapon recharges on a 5 or 6, and if one recharges, they all recharge (they all share the recharge roll). Ouch.

 

[Felon]

In 4e, Healing Surges ARE hit points, as far as i'm concerned. The fiddly bits matter to characters, but in the slow burn that DMs pay attention to, it is vitally important. Low surges = PC death.

No argument there. Healing surges just need a vehicle to turn them into hit points. Of course, there is plenty of healing that doesn't use a surge--and unfortunately, there's even a fair amount that affects "all allies", rather than a fixed number.