I wouldn’t actually agree with this. For a few reasons really…
It is Beast Mastery after all. It does make sense for the bulk of the damage to come from either your main pet or other pet-related attacks.
Like you said, the fact that your pet’s auto attacks deal so much dmg overall, is because of what you do yourself. You have to keep the Frenzy-stacks up as much as possible, or pet auto-attack damage won’t be anywhere near the top.
While technically, it’s a bit different here as your pet is actually a moving entity. But on the other hand, take any ability that deals periodic damage. You press a button once, and damage is dealt over time no matter what you do next.
Maybe, what you have is an ability that lets you build up the damage it deals by using it again whenever possible.
It’s kind of the same thing with hunter pets and Barbed Shot. They are like mobile DoTs you can control, to a degree.
The only way to avoid this, is to use/have abilities that deal instant damage, and that comes in the form of ranged shots via your gun/bow/xbow etc.
But this wouldn’t actually be Beast Mastery then, would it?
I agree that it could use quite a few improvements. Have previously posted my suggestions on the matter.
Personally though, despite the fact that I don’t think the spec is anywhere near perfect. It IS still the hunter spec that I enjoy the most.
MM is waaay to stale in it’s current state for me. Also, I’ve never been a big fan of having several abilities with a cast time or channeling time. Also, I like pets.
Survival in it’s current state…it’s a melee spec so, it’s a big NO for me.
I like a playstyle that involves DoTs as well.
In fact, one of my favorite specs of all times was when Hunters had the old ranged SV spec that included for example: Explosive Shot, Black Arrow and Serpent Sting(and more).
Which is also why I’m a big advocate for coming up with ways on how it can come back(see link below):
True, for many, it doesn’t matter as much as performance does.
But an important note is that in most cases, it doesn’t actually matter what spec you play. As long as you’re not in it to play on a competitive level or for example in M+, aim for the top of the top key levels.
And like @Yjjial said, if you have a spec that you know to the T compared to if you choose a spec that has the potential to perform better but you might not know what to do when playing it, the outcome might very well turn out on the negative side.