I have never once met someone who ever kept a hireling over a player unless the hire was a trapper and the player wasn't or it was a similar case with healing.

Hirelings are just terrible and it makes playing melees without a non-ai healer just a real pain.

If someone told you that they would prefer to have a hireling for dps rather than have you around then they lied. No hireling could ever keep up with minimally (not even named geared) human in terms of damage. There was probably a personality conflict behind their decision.
Check this list and if you set off any of these red flags you should probably change yours habits:
  • You speak with a mic constantly and do not shut up no matter what. You rant about your day or complain about lag or whatever but the key is your mic is picking up noise more than 20% of the time.
  • You complain about the actions of others. Even if they are botching the quest or dragging it out or leaving your soul stone behind, criticizing others will make them dislike you.
  • You Leeroy Jenkins every dungeon and have wiped a few parties doing it. If you have a habit of walking into rooms alone and dying, then you fit this description.
  • You pike too much and do literally nothing. You aren't healing, actively doing damage, or even pulling levers. You do way too little so people would rather keep the spot open for others.
  • You have a miscellaneous annoying habit such as using Terror Arrows, triggering traps/fights before the party is ready, exclusively kill stealing (low DC necros do this in epic sometimes), killing vengies in high reaper, or anything else that would lower someone else's enjoyment of the game.