I think it's safe to say that Pathfinders along with USF is dead in teamgames now, at least for a while
It would be interesting to see where Relic is getting their balance info. Even after the last balance patch, USF didn't seem very competitive overall and crutched on Pathfinders way too much.
I think most people go Airborne because the upgrade costs for riflemen are nuts.
Infantry Support Center fuel costs 15+15+50+80
Grenades 25
Bars 40
So you spend 220 fuel to get something that has no good AT and still isn't as good a group of Jaegers or Bersas. Neither DAK nor Wehr has to pay fuel for their infantry upgrades, other than the veterancy upgrades. COH1 showed just how bad purchased veterancy was, yet somehow Relic brought it back in COH3.
Other commanders:
Spec Ops - 3 cp's to get commandoes that are about as good as Bersa's? That's really late for a mainline replacement.
6 cp's to get AT gun and MG drop? Yes, I know it gives some fuel, but the value of that is questionable and it makes it too late to be viable as a T3 replacement.
Whizbang is a joke, less range than an AT gun.
Mechanized - 11-12 CP (depending on options) for an Easy 8 that isn't much better than a P4? For 12 CP, Wehr gets Raid, the 8 Rad, and a Panther. Which of those sounds better?
Scott has no range and shoots marshmellows, while coming out at 4 cp's at the earliest.
War machine is great for comp stomps, but in an real game you've already lost to 8 Rads or Carro's.