Do you even really play the game. HAve you ever seen the videos of the wtf maxims. No suppression..? Really? why dont you try that yourself. You will be suppressed and also killed, quickly may I add.
People were not as much complaining about 2 of the aspects they nerfed but the fact it is insuppressible, and due to crew size hard to counter with mortars,snipers, whilst being near invincible vs infantry when in a building. I don't think anyone saw the mg42 getting a 4th squad member or a straight up damage nerf for the maxim.
How is mg42 op and maxim not? The only thing mg42 did better was suppress and had a wider firing arc, which was insignificant when it has a long set up time compared to the Maxim. Maxim had quick set up time, crew size, damage output,range nearly of a sniper, speed, and still suppressed infantry, but only also killing them.
The mg42 has instant suppression over a massive arc and inside buildings can totally lock down an entire area from any infantry. Thats the job of the mg42, as a defensive unit. That is something the maxim can not even hope to do. The maxim has trouble suppressing one squad of infantry...
The maxim is meant to be an offensive support unit, which it does well. It can easily be flanked and with a little micro it will never get a shot off at u up close. You literally can rush it with 2 units and one will def be able to flank it before being suppressed. I know because it happens against me all the time. This is a learn to play problem, other then crew size and packing speed, the mg42 is better in almost every aspect.