Sturmpioneers were nerfed as well, so that is also a factor in why Assault Engineers are doing better.
Assault Engineers decimate Sturmpioneers, and effectively everything else. Their DPS at 10 meters is higher than Sturmpioneers DPS at 4.
280 MP unit with bars? of course they preform way above their price, you added 60 munition to the cost of the unit. It would be pretty sad if you upgraded a unit and it didnt get any better.
Actually before 15 meters, the BAR actually makes them worse.
BAR Max DPS at 5 Meters: 10.4789
M3 Max DPS at 10 Meters: 17.1930
Personally I think for their current performance, Assault Engineers should cost 360 Manpower and come at 1CP.