We have very different experiences, then. My Fire Sent isn't too far behind either my Water/Rad Corrupter or Ice/Time Blaster. But the kicker is that both of them are more survivable than the Sent. If I got him up to 45% def, his damage would fall even farther behind.
There are always exceptions for each toon, but I've never found pylon testing to compare very well to actual performance.