Yeah, no. I did all the endgame content at release in ARR and HW (all before nerfs etc.)
And none of it came close to actual tanking rotations.
If you're interested in what I mean, you should check out FFXI sometime. Just like XIV, you don't see the combat come together until level cap, and that game doesn't have a GCD. Instead, at higher levels, with haste etc, you'll be pressing OGCDs nonstop and tanks have to constantly be juggling their tank CDs and tank spells to survive.