Damage is a tool itself. Humans aren't robots, and do get read and punished or are placed into positions where they have to make risky decisions. Yes, GL can get blown up on his b13 string for a full combo, but if it's like the character is only doing like 20% with no oki setups or shit like that, the risk isn't really that great.
This was why Cyrax went from just being a top 10 character to a top 3 character. Nothing actually changed about him during that time other than the players getting more refined, and people starting to come to terms with the fact that everything you were punishable for wasn't like with any other character. It was a death sentence. His damage alone forced you to respect elements of his game that weren't that powerful otherwise, like his offense and trading projectiles.