It's not a rare thing for games to cheat in your favour, what was the last shooter where you had the same health as the hundreds of grunts and monsters you slew?

That's not the same; not enforcing "realism" (for want of a better word) isn't the same as cheating. A more appropriate example would be something like "when was the last time you played a shooter where your crosshair didn't stick to or gravitate towards enemy targets?".

That's rather common, too, among less-than-absolutely-hardcore-fps games which are still shooters and played in first person or over-the-shoulder. There's quite a few games in the genre that give enemies more health and weaponry than you have, but grant you superior tactical options.

Especially in console shooters. It's frowned upon in PC games somewhat.

Amen. I've learned the hard way that a few pixels difference in a hitbox makes the difference between them sticking till the end or quitting in frustration from dying unfairly and leaving you a 1/5.