I feel like I've never had problems with the bears, meanwhile the virgins always manage to chip enough health off that I end up wishing I'd just run past.
I do that and they end up clipping through me and either making me get stuck until they grab me, or they reposition in a jank-ass manner to always be facing me, even mid attack. I just bait them to do the charge attack by moving away from them, then smack 'em while they recover from the charge.
I'm in the same boat. Unless they get the drop on me while I'm dealing with another threat the bears are more bark than bite.
They punish players for trying to keep their distance. They can close the gap really quickly and have big sweeping attacks that hit like a truck. But yeah... Stay in close and they just whiff right over your head.