Sorry, but it seems you missed the entire point. It's not about being hit by molotov, or about backing your mg42 in due time, a good micro will help you do that. It's about the fact that MG42 needs to pack up and redeploy when a molotov hits or when an iminent molotov menace aproaches. My maxims allways held the position against rifle grenades hits, and sometimes I merged cons squads into them and reinforced them on the field. They practically never need to lose position or stop firing because of rifle nades. They could only break engagement and retreat/change position when flanked, bombarded by mortar or arty, burned by incendiary hits, rushed with tanks. No need to retreat or break engagement just for a stupid useless rifle nade.
To conclude, the nerfing of rifle nades doesn't bother me, I can win games without using them so much, or without using them at all, but such nerfing was to harsh or not needed. Frankly most of the time I prefer saving amo for better uses then rifle grenades. Thank God Dshk isn't what it was anymore.
so you think rifle nade had been over nerfed now?
anyway although mg42 is forced to reposition, as long as you have a gren squad near it, gren can keep suppressed units suppressed while mg 42 re ups. you said one of only ways to make maxim move is flanking. good thing it has such a low arc. it does set up much quicker, but if it turns to face your flanker, your units that maxim was facing previously is now open to move in.
it is also surprising that your maxims have never been forced to reposition due to rifle nades. i do it all the times as german and vice versa. i guess ppl i play and i use much different maxim than you.
only problem i have with mg42 now is that it still does not suppress consistently.