Profile of Antemurale

1. Conscript Merge is very powerful and you should use it with all squads (including team weapons) except Shocks. This is due to the fact that generally conscript reinforce cost is lower (cons are 20MP, combat engineers are 21MP, penals are 25MP, guards are 27MP).
Don't merge with Shocks because shocks have 1.5 armor, which they rely on to tank bullets in order to close the distance.

2. The M3A1 scout car is very strong against OKW early-game. Stick a Penal squad inside (then a Combat Engineer with a Flamer) and use it to close-range bully lone squads or burn MGs in houses (stay at long range vs Sturmpioneers). After about 6-7 min (about when OKW gets their truck down) pop the squad out and start using it as long-range fire support to help you win infantry engagements. It's okay to lose it at this point if you've already done plenty of manpower and map control damage.

3. Most doctrines are fine with T1 as it is very flexible. If you build 1-2 Conscripts, Tank Hunters is very viable. Engage hard on the enemy until you get your 3CPs, then stick PTRS on your Conscripts. Concripts become very effective against light and even medium armor, while it keeps Penals effective against infantry. Late game you get the IL-2 PTAB AT Bombing run, which is effective against tanks if it hits; try aiming for tank with engine damage or ones that are stunned.
If you don't build Conscripts, Guard Motor is extremely strong, as you can use 2CP Guards to fill in the light AT role (their anti-infantry isn't bad either), 120mm Mortars to bomb/smoke MGs, and late-game you get T-34/85s combined with Mark Target.

4. Currently it is advised to get a T-70 from T3. It is an extremely strong anti-infantry vehicle that can defeat the 222 one-on-one and also the OKW Luchs if you manage to get a jump on it. Use aggressively, but stay out of faust range, and watch for mines.
Later on in the game when medium tanks have been out for a while don't use it as aggressively; instead use its Recon Mode to give you information about where the enemy is.
Going for the T-34 isn't a bad call either, as the T-34/76 is also quite effective against infantry and isn't afraid of Axis light vehicles.

From the CoH2 Mod Tools:

- Immobilizes squad
- Receives 0 suppression
- Receives 10% less damage
- Weapon accuracy decreased by 20%

FYI the Guards one:
- Immobilizes squad
- Cooldown decreased by 25%
- Range increased by 2.5m

The wording of this makes it sound like something that belongs in Balance Discussion.

Anyways, back to the topic: I would not say that allied units perform poorly compared to their WM or OKW counterparts. It is simply a matter of where they perform well (what is their intended role, intended engagement distance, etc.).

Grenadiers beat Rear Echelons because they are designed to fight. They're designed to win engagements. Rear Echelons are designed to be support units. They can build a ton stuff, repair things like tanks, and (finally!) plant mines.

Directly comparing a combat unit to a utility unit isn't a fair comparison. You can say REs are 40MP less than Grens and perform poorly against them; I can say Pioneers are 40MP less than Conscripts and perform poorly against them.

In the days when I had way too much time to spare I actually conducted mass vacuum tests of all 1v1 infantry engagements that I knew of. Riflemen beat Grens and Volks at close and mid ranges in all circumstances (stock, upgraded, max vet & upgraded, no cover, yellow cover, green cover), even beating Volks at long range in the upgraded and max vet upgraded tests.

The M2HB .50 cal was nerfed only when they removed the Sprint ability, which is a perfectly reasonable as team weapons should be punished for being flanked. Popcap adjustments and adjusting suppression are minor yet also very reasonable. Even so, it has great suppression and amazing damage. The mighty MG42 does less damage but has a wider arc.

Arguing that it is locked behind tech is invalid, as the Maxim is also locked behind tech. The OKW MG34, as paltry as it is, is also locked behind tech (albeit is unlocked with any tech). Out of all the MGs locked behind tech, the M2HB is easily the most powerful one.

In all honesty, the cost-to-performance of most units in CoH2 is relatively well tuned at the moment; the biggest issues I can recall (off the top of my head) lie with heavy tanks, which are more difficult to use due to their massive hitboxes and their slow, cumbersome nature.

SiphonX might be my favorite person on COH2.org because these statistics he keeps pumping out are magnificent.

I like this idea, but would further IS spam, and further make pyrotechnics obsolete.

On the subject of pyrotechnics, I was thinking of making it a "IS Scout section" similar to IR Pathfinders. Essentially, you get 10 extra LoS, cheap arty flares, camo in cover, and two scoped SMLEs that crit enemy infantry at 40% HP (otherwise identical to regular IS SMLE). I would say that this would make it attractive in its own way.

On the subject of IS spam, I would say that it has been around for quite some time and always will be around as long as mainline infantry are this powerful and this flexible. Happens to USF Riflemen a lot as well (and, is arguably worse); even less flexible infantry such as Grens and Volks are often spammed. However, I would say that good army composition with proper combined arms should still win (albeit with more strategy and tactics required).