At any rate, there are also a number of other things to consider with Ifrit's use:
1) If you have a nin/war+monk are they keeping their buffs up? you think this is a no brainer, but well...
Ifrit is still higher DPS
2) Ifrit's AoE is VERY small.. very.. very small. He engages aat max melee attack range, his AoE is centered on him and it's range is just a hair past his melee reach. It's quite easy to miss a grouping of mobs in a mass pile because the AoE just doesn't reach far enough. Garuda's localizes on the target, this insures more dmg landing as there's less chance for the AoE to just physically miss.
Ifrit is the Single Target pet and Garuda is the AOE pet. If you have enough AOE to warrant Garuda then this is a no-brainer.
3) When raging + pots + foe etc are up for the contagion phase, the difference between the two is a far, far wider. This chart doesn't seem to count any buffs at all which isn't a fair correlation between the two.
Ifrit quickly outpaces the initial burst of using Buffed Dots + Contagion.
Also, this needs to be said for anyone who is looking at this chart: numbers collected at a dummy are one thing when it's nice and sterile and nothing moves. In the field however is a different story. -
Making the most efficient use of your pet will equalize the difference between a dummy chart and an actual fight
That being said, they both have their place in certain content. I'm of the mind that neither one is a 100% use only sort of pet. Smn should be using both and should know when to use both. Is there a lot of movement/adds? Do the adds stack poorly? Do you have a slashing/blunt debeuff? Will ifrit be taking -Physical- hits to make the most of radiant shield? Do you need a stun and can it be a knock back or no?
The right pet for the right job is definitely important. Ifrit is just usually the right pet and Radiant Shield is terrible.
Edit: I knew something looked strange and it's the contagion sections This is only one half of the picture here.. the egi! Where is the smn's dmg? This isn't showing the synergy and gains from that inter-relationship. -
On Average Contagion is equal to 15s/GCD - 3GCD = # of Ruins
So in current gear ~ 240 Potency * 4.5 @ 60s Intervals = ~18 DPS for the Summoner.
Comparing pet damage of the current BiS you have Ifrit 195 - Garuda 152 + Summoner 18 = 170
So even without Slash/Blunt Ifrit is doing a more consistent 25 DPS, and that's if Summoner is getting 100% use of their extended Dots (adds not dyeing before they run their full duration)