I don't get all the people complaining about lag and drops. The only time it is an issue is when playing against people in team games who have their settings cranked too high for their own good or have spotty internet connnection. I play on a laptop and don't lag or lose connections ever. I would like to see the game optimized more and have improved unit response but I'm highly sceptical all the lag and drops is due to CoH2 itself. For me, it's a pretty simple equation. I love RTS MP and I don't like SC2 - and I know it usually takes Relic 6+ months to really get their games in good shape. So while I may float in and out playing more or less, I'll be sticking with it and am pretty confident it's only going to improve with age.
It can't just be internet and settings. I've played with clan members for the last 5 years or so and know how stable our internet is and the powerful machines they are running. We play 5-6 games no problem and then the next one one of us drops (prompting the usual irritating comments from our opponents like "jeez upgrade your machine". Most recently I had this shortly after the in game "connection problem" light showing for a while before turning off (though it was my buddy that dropped). We had several problems that night but none the next suggesting the Relics/steams servers have some influence on this. Frequently a steam restart cures a players inability to connect to a game in the lobby too.
The issue is not so frequent as to drive me away, Im too much of a fan for that, you just have to be prepared to surrender and take a loss (not so bad without ranks) so you can restart with your friend and not an AI