To Raw:
Damage is nearly the same cuz 20mm cannon on AC just didnt kill a shit, believe me I used them a lot. Also by the time you see vanilla AC on the field you have time to tech to AT nades in case that 20mm cannon will kill your men as you say, it is the same story as with Flame HT. AC is already super fragile, one AT nade and it is dead so better damage by small arms fire will make it useless as it was before the patch (I mean upgraded AC). It can be more vulnerable to Maxim fire maybe, but thats about it.
German early AT is exactly the same as Soviets. The only difference is that Soviets have to tech to have it while German have to tech and build T2 building to field something you can use AT nades on. What is your problem with that, it is working as intended. You either play it save with AT nades and or Guards or risk it with fast T70. It is your choice and this game is pretty much about it: high risk may come with high reward but also can cost you a game.
