I had a more thorough reply written, but the forums ate it on me.
While I agree it shouldn't be a vet pinata, I'd have to strongly disagree with the notion that its price/performance is fine.
It's simply too expensive for what it will ever be capable of. You can see how it died after the patch which increased the cost to current levels. I'd go as far as saying that building a Churchill is better for the opponent than it is for the player who built it.
It has poor speed and a relatively weak gun (it's literally a Cromwell's gun with a longer reload). In the end game that means you either need numbers or supporting tanks to achieve much of note. The problem is that its cost is so high that the opponent can easily afford units to nullify the Churchill. It's more expensive than the Ostheer Panther for example. As a british player, you're almost always better off going for the Comet or simply more Cromwells. The HP of the Churchill simply does not justify its current cost.
My personal opinion is that the Churchill is still quite viable. I posit that the biggest reason people shy away from the Churchill is the psychological low-armour = bad-unit mental connection. With my OP I aim to correct this dissonance.
However, as you can guess, the Churchill is a situational unit. Now, what I propose is that before we go ahead and overbuff the Churchill, let's go with a simple side-buff. This is not a direct buff to the Churchill, but it is a significant buff to the Anvil meta-strategy (when multiple units and abilities meld together).
Hammer vs Anvil is not Comet vs Churchill
On a Comet vs Churchill basis, the Comet is currently better because it's 1) more self-sufficient 2) offers more utility to your army composition (80-range White Phosphorus is godly in an army with no offensive artillery).
What this means is that Comet spam is way more viable than Churchill spam. However, UKF has other units in place to cover for the Churchill's shortcomings. The Comet, in part, overlaps with these units.
On a Hammer vs Anvil basis, things would have been quite equal; if it were not for bugs.
The main reason Anvil sucks this patch is because every single ability apart from Airburst shells (and I mean every single one) is currently bugged and does not work, one way or another.
- Heavy Engineers lose their armour bonus when they die. Also, their vet is bugged. When this is fixed they will become 3x more durable to small arms. For a 13MP reinforcement cost.
- Advanced warning doesn't give extra sight anymore. Free recon is important in a mobility-challenged sub-doctrine.