I keep playing with the rays and extrusion and its always the same results (some angular looking areas and some textures)

the thing is - there is way to much probability with the tenths and hundredths place behind the whole numbers

there has to be some kind of remedy or way around this (or "usual default") ray and/or extrusion that will work

any hints?

the thing is - there is way to much probability with the tenths and hundredths place behind the whole numbers

I don't see probabilities, I see a nice dragon model with some jagged or flat parts (e.g. both large and camera-facing in the middle finger of the left wing) that, at first sight, match the normal map in your screenshot and should be easy to fix with some sculpting.

Can you articulate your problem better? Is there a mismatch between high-poly and low-poly versions of the dragon?