well considering those heavy TDs are team game creatures, I think I can confidently say that Jackson is not useless in the live version of the game in 2v2+... no where near useless...
A lot of the clans we've consulted have reassured us that Jackson is either completely useless (due to its fragility), or completely overshadowed by the Firefly, which has more durability and hits harder at the same time. The only reason those clans bring USF along is for Calliope, the ambulance and nothing else.
the problem of getting super hard countered by the ele and JT is a part of a greater problem of team games where JT and ELE just becomes the critical mass bomb i.e. both sides are at even power with a few tanks on each players' command and axis team getting ELE or JT will just swing the balance of armour power pendulum way over to the axis side. In which case 90% if the time, then the allies only option is to get enough AT and AI to hold off while getting katyusha, land mattress and calliope to wipe axis inf (those three units basically have the same problem where they are handle-able one to two at a time but becomes absolutely unmanageable once they hit critical mass).
Note that along with HeavyTD meta, allied arty-wipe meta is also going down the drain to keep balance in check.
so i think 280 damage for super TDs are the right way to go to reduce the critical mass problem by making medium tanks able to withstand 1 more shot and its impact will be big - we've seen similar impact with stewie... but the quoted line is a poor reasoning to give jackson extra HP, let alone a new role.
The primary reason Jackson is getting a makeover is 1v1.
The only way somebody is going to build a jackson in 1v1 is when they want to concede defeat. USF currently lacks access to proper tanks that can chase and finish off enemy tanks. The sherman, while excellent at AI, lacks the speed and durability to fill this niche. Therefore, the Jackson is revamped to fill those shoes. The new design also fits USF's design as a mobile, aggressive faction.
4v4-wise, the new Jackson also gets a unique identity. Rather than being a budget-firefly, the Jackson gets a new identity that will let it be used in a different fashion from all other TDs in the game.
I am sensing a renewal of the penal syndrome here. This time however, it is in the form of the Jackson, that is getting put in the place that the terminator penals were put in before.
You are correct in sensing a renewal of the Penal syndrome. However, if want to take a trip to the way-back machine, you will see that most complaints we got about Penals were completely off the mark/bullshit.
E.g., one of the top complaints we had was how the PTRS upgrade would make Luchs a completely useless never-build unit, etc.
If we only ever get feedback about the Jackson, of course you are only ever going to get Jackson changes.