With respect to USF, however, it is easy to see that USF infantry should be more cost-effective than OKW infantry, because OKW late-game vehicles are more cost-effective and way less micro-intensive than the USF paper-fleet.
I agree with your assessment of the usf riflemen. but if riflemen are supposed to be the strongest line infantry then the vg's should be the second strongest. The reason for that are simple. every other aspects of the okw early game is inferior to the usf: lv's support weapons teching and early tanks are all inferior.
Now the whole OKW faction is simply falling to pieces without its shreks as these problems have been their for a long time but where masked by the effects the shrek had on the game. the following needs to happen in my opinion.
buff the mp44 upgrade to mirror the pg stg.
the okw flacktruck needs some buffs
and the price reversal of the tanks.