Profile of Sander93

Assuming you're not using tungsten it obivously IS worst at gun

Why would anyone assume you're not using the one ability that is literally meant to be used to give it great performance versus mediums and up? It gets higher pen than any other ATG with 30 munitions and has by far the highest ROF by default.

first strike removal

First Strike bonus from camouflage was not removed.

In 6.0 its duration was increased from 1 to 2 shots.
Now it's been decreased back to 1 shot again.

That was Volkssturm, not Volksgrens.
Volksgrens were pretty much whatever was left from other divisions + wounded soldiers.

It's a bit of both. Volksgrenadier divisions for a considerable part did consist of new recruits that would've been considered too young or too old for an ordinary draft, but not as extreme as the Volkssturm.

Adding to the list of stuff:

223 (Elite Armor) is very effective at protecting your HMGs from Shocktroopers or just driving around and straight up killing them (due to its 1.3 penetration on its MG). If you run into the PTRS blob, it has smoke at vet 1 to get away. The 223 can serve as a cheaper Luchs and you can directly follow up with a Puma to counter the T-70.

Another solution is to rush Obersoldaten.
Either get IR STG44 Obersoldaten (Special Operations) which counter Shocktroopers by themselves, or get them to vet 1 and use the white phosphorus grenade to trap them and prevent them from charging in. With the Shocks being incapacitated you can follow up with a bundled grenade they can't easily dodge and force them to retreat.

If you're playing team games you can also try to rush a flammenpanzer Hetzer (Feuersturm) or a Panzer IV. If the enemy is spamming Shocks and you're doing okay against them (by kiting with Volks, using mines etc.) they will have very few manpower left to get a lot of AT or tanks so you should have the advantage here. Bonus from Feuersturm is that flamer Sturmpioneers deal quite a lot of damage to Shocks because the flamer ignores their armor and Shocks like to bunch up (good for flamer AOE).

Modern war might be a really awesome theme.... tho I gotta admit that I would be a little bit scared by this change as well since we're all used to pure WW2 setting.

I don't think a modern setting fits CoH - too many high tech high range weapon systems (like ATGMs) and focus on merging combat roles like the Main Battle Tank or stuffing all sorts of heavy weapons on recon/infantry fighting vehicles (like Bradley or BMP). Or all infantry having standardized assault rifle + LMG loadouts.

Something early Cold War (the end of the 'mechanical' warfare era) would be pretty interesting though. Basically 1950s-1960s with Pattons and T-54s and with light tanks like the M41 still in service could basically be a reskinned CoH/CoH2. The same mechanics and core but in a new and unique setting.