I just realize how bad late bloomers are. At max level, they only barely beat the starter dragons in stats. And that's not taking into account they fact starter have a better leader skill, need less than half the xp, and the same element sub-type will more than likely result in more damage.
They have decent awakening skills though. If they starting adding utility to breath attacks, things could look up. I still think both they and the starter dragons could use a slight buff in stats.