You don't die in one hit to most things unless you run with very low health and armor. That's a solvable problem.

And while sometimes bonfires can be a bit far apart, especially in the earlier games, people also seem to forget that you can literally just run past enemies. That said, I think it's part of the journey and the struggle. Dark Souls is basically a rythm game in a way and that takes experience. Basically, you don't need to kill everything but it's good exercise.

Also there has always been an "easy mode", cheesy build and multiplayer. If you think the game is too hard, play different.