Compared to other light tanks? Yes it's armour is good for a light vehicle, it has a good chance of taking on an Ostwind partially thanks to it. You can't really say the same for a T-70.
The Stuart has the same HP pool as a Luchs. This means that it functionally has the exact same survivability as the Luchs, and I don't hear anyone call it a well armored vehicle.
Also, you cannot just compare light tanks like that. The Stuart was specifically made to counter vehicles, and as a result it has some of the shittiest AI in a light vehicle in the game. It better be able to defeat an ostwind 1v1, but it can't. Why? Because the Ostwind has enough pen and HP to tank the rounds from a Stuart and kill it straight up. Not to mention that you have paks and Grenadiers to help you with that.
That's enough to bounce P4 and Puma shots, yes I would say the stock sherman has good armour. The E8 eats P4's for breakfast thanks to the extra armour and pen it has.
All medium armor can bounce puma and other medium rounds. Thats why mediums have to flank each other. However, the Sherman doesn't have 50 range or spotting like the puma, and the Sherman also has worse pen than a P4 (and worse armor), meaning that the Sherman will always have to flank to engage at an advantage. This makes it an inherently more fragile vehicle because it will be more likely to hit mines and to run into infantry. Also, the Sherman ends up fighting larger vehicles (like the Panther), which makes it impossible for the Sherman to engage in any way but to flank.
Unfortunately the game does not really play out stock, if there was a world where Rifle/Infantry company did not exist this argument might be valid. USF lategame is extremely strong thanks to Sherman/1919/flamer spam and other doctrinal ability's.
OK, the game doesn't run off of stock. While I agree that lmg rifle spam is stupid because of defensive stance, you have literally 0 reason to complain about it in this case, because USF armor is what is so micro intensive, not infantry. It would be like saying "Soviets are a well designed faction because of Shock Motor."
USF has 2 medium callins. The E8 and the Bulldozer. Both of these tanks have 640 HP, and both of these tanks have less armor than a vet 2 P4. Either way, you will never see a player spamming Bulldozers, since they have minimal AT, and E8 spam is one of the least cost efficient plays you can make, since E8s are much worse than an equal investment in the SHerman + Jackson combo. You may save on micro, but you pay out the ass in actual cost. (And its not like Germans don't get get out of jail abilities with blitz and smoke, even though they have stronger tanks, so your point is nullified by that as well).
Stock or Doctrinal, Ostheer and OKW still have a much better lategame than USF with better stock mediums, better stock tanks, better doctrinal support options, and better scaling infantry. USF's most hated ability for example is the P47 strafe. Ostheer gets a version that is cheaper by 40 mu, can instantly wipe any medium tank caught in its AOE, and can kill infantry and support weapons when armor has left the area.
Unless you think that USF lategame doesn't require more micro? I would love to hear your pro strat on how to reduce manpower and micro bleed for USF?
Read the posts you are quoting, I never proposed removing superglue or vehicle crews from the game. But a 40/50 cost for an ability that can allow you a get out of jail free card is hardly that punishing on "USF lategame"
I never said that you wanted to remove it. I was merely giving background on the ability itself for everyone reading the thread. I have already stated, that IMO, all crit repair needs is to not be bugged + cost 30 mu. It is a fair cost, with part of the cost present in the risk of losing your crew.