On paper yes, ST AOE technically much better, but the main problem is, even considering that it has better chances at wiping retreating units, ST still need much more pre-positioning to be able to roll in, unload and roll out.
Not to mention that, support weapons like AT guns cant soft-retreat from AVRE aswell, unless pre-spotted and retreating support weapons have very big chance to be wiped as well. Also, unless its volks\PFs\Ostts all squad models will be in kill radius of the AVRE anyway.
Objectively ST AOE provides better blob control, but its still imo very debatable if its bigger AOE actually that much powerful and impactful.
But if we only speak about scenario where ST rolled in, successfully shot and rolled out, ignoring everything what comes before it, then yes its AOE provides much more.
Not really. Maps that are hard on the ST are maps like General Mud (A brilliant map), where there are a lot of assaulting paths. Most 3v3 maps, you use the ST with a couple of buttons.
Drive forward -> click boom -> reverse -> wait for reload.
Heck, I remember on winnekendonk where it took me and my teammate I think 2 full minutes of extremely micro intensive flanks and assaults to kill one ST. The biggest problem was the psychological one. Is it ready to fire again?
I dived with 2 jacksons and rifles and started barraging with pak howis. There was one bounce but about 5 misses in total between the jacksons and the allies T34s bounced or missed pretty much every shot on the run. After all was said and done, that was full two minutes of trying to kill one sturmtiger that literally fired and just reversed back behind the treeline on the bottom winnekendonk fuel (north-eastern).
So on some maps, maneuvering the ST will be difficult, even for a good player, on most maps, it's a piece of cake. Even more so because you know it can take a punch. You know that TDs are needed to penetrate, and even then there can be misses. Last but not least, in teamgames, the unit density is high, so chances are you'll get counter flanked trying to kill the ST.
On paper, killing a ST is easy. Oh it has only 220 armour, TDs will penetrate 95% of time... but yeah, TDs need constant sight, need not miss and you need to deal with all the other sh** around the ST.
Well unless you're a certain top10 OKW player that drove the ST solo, unsupported over the frozen river on Rhzev Winter and cursed the RNG when I fired one shot at it.
And it is, yeah. It's not debatable. If you've played against a ST and/or played with AVRE, you'd notice the difference. AVRE ONLY if it lands the shot, it's good night. ST even if it doesn't land it close to perfect, it's good night or close to it. Thank fu** that the germans didn't make it with a turret, because 80 years later you'd get a turreted sturmtiger that shoots nukes.