Whenever I have to fight a Sith (Elites) even 2 levels lower than me (at 4 level lower, I can defeat them with few HP to spare), I tend to die.  I play a 32 Trooper Vanguard and have level appropriate armor, weaponry (minus a couple of mods/enhancements that I need to level) and all class/vanguard abilities trained.  I have Elara as my companion set to her aggressive healing setting.  

*Very occasionally, I'll have problems with elites having large damage rapid fire weapons, but slightly different tactics usually leads to my success.  This does not happen with attacking Sith Elites*

My stats
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![Dexa Stats][1]

Skill tree
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![Dexa Skills][2]

Is this a simple need for better armor/shield/enhancements with more Damage Reduction, Defense Chance, Shield Chance and Shield Absorption?  I've been concentrating on Aim, but perhaps I should adjust my priorities.

  [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/h2NjR.png
  [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/aW97L.png