My ifrit only parses 8-12 dps more than garuda on dummies with both on obey (since he isn't glitched it's better than sic for him now from what I noticed). Sure this can be boosted with a MNK but that's not always available. Meanwhile my party pretty much always has a bard which does boost Garuda's damage a fair amount. Not as often as a MNK could boost ifrit but still quite a while to the point where she's usually between 80-100dps depending on crits and uptime in all the new content. And I don't have to worry about her eating cleaves in T6 or 7 and I hardly have to micromanage her in 6 because of where I place her.