well the stug was called the best TD and has average pen for a TD what really made it shine was the reload speed so the same logic should be applied to the versions of the sherman (and if u look at the scatter and aoe profile) easy 8 is more of a generalist while the 76 is more honed for tank damage thanks to the high reload
so i do think that the easy 8 will be better 8/10 times but the 76 is by no means a bad tank and shine more on Mtank on Mtank fights
StuG had a number of factors making it best TD, extremely cheap cost, very low pop, rapid fire and TWP all added up to that.
What does 76 have?
-not the cost(its 2nd most expensive "at" allied tank in game)
-not the pen(EZ8 is vastly superior)
-not cheap pop
-RoF is ok, but EZ8 is still MUCH better in med on med combat because it can actually deflect AND penetrate reliably, while posing a real threat to heavier tanks as well AND being able to survive extra shot.
76 sherman introduces a good alternative to soviet T34/76, but not to 34/85.
It was a breath of fresh air for soviets back in the day and the doctrine was picked exclusively because of DSHK and ability to call it in, without that, the unit died as both, 34/85 and KV-1 are much better alternatives for the cost.
The same thing applies to USF and regular M4 as well as ez8.