Good thing those side grades are compensated for with extra starting resources, free squads, super cost efficient scaling infantry etc.
Want to see a muni strapped faction? Try ostheer. They require munis for infantry just to stay relevant.
Light vehicles giving you trouble? Try an AT gun.
Honestly USF is very strong when you know what you’re doing with the faction. I personally only played 150 games and am currently top100 and exceeding my OKW which I have far more games as. USF is probably tied for best late game faction currently against soviets with the HE Sherman, Jackson on AT, Scott as a solid piece of indirect and many of the strong doctrinal as well. Easy eights are fantastic in 1v1 and even 2v2 against armor, and the Pershing is as good as the former KT.
This faction is only weak to snipers, MG spam on thin maps, and their awful tech fork. Get past that and you’re golden.
Cant survive because the early game is super rough? Good thing VPs prevent the game from ending at 10 minutes... 2 years ago OKW was the late game faction and USF was the early game strong faction. Now we’re on the opposite side because everyone complained they couldn’t “win early game”. So how do you lose “early game” now?
USF is fine when I play vs players below top 20 players, I don't think you have experienced enough frustration vs a really good OKW player.
VS okw players, even you killed two squads if they manage to produce their lucs out around 6 mins, they are completely fine. Still can gain half of the map control. AT gun as you mentioned, you will never kill the lucs vs a good okw player, and you just bleed out in manpower when he pokes you at max range. Which also means, you can't play on both side of the map, you can only play the side where you have at gun. And btw, if you screw up early first grouped engagement vs Volks, then there is no way you winning the game. Volks then build sandbags at fuels and key location waiting for you to attack. They have a better chance of winning since they are long range and don't have to gap close. Still, have SP to flank. Same population caps, volks and sp has more combat potential than USF, since RM is expensive and squishy. You can't get to the late game when you can't survive the early game because of manpower bleed and if their p4 comes before your Sherman it is pretty much game over.
AA half track, can easily be killed by a hold fire camo rekton.
If you go t1, your light vehicle naturally at disadvantage vs OKW 's light vehicle since they have no tech needed at gun.
If you go t2, RM not going to win vs Volks with STG since your don't have .50 cal support.STG always cheaper to get vs tech upgrade bar. So volks have much early power spikes vs RM.
Moreover, one puma from axis completely shutdowns USF light vehicle.
So unless you use some off meta-strategy like WC trucks, MG spam you don't really have an advantage vs OKW.
I believe this is also the reason why USF pick rate is low in gcs.
Either buff RM by give them smokes back or remove the sandbag from Volks. You don't need to remove the sandbag from tommies since their cap rate got nerfered.
People complained about how OP the double LMG on RM was, with the captain's on me ability it was OP. But one single LMG on RM is super bad, you put it on a vetted RE is decent. IMO, LMG 42 is much better than USF LMG, which is also 15 muni cheaper, can be upgraded after battle phase one. LMG 42 comes earlier than 3cp USF lmg. On maps like crossroad, single LMG 42 upgrade on GD makes them 100 to 0 RM. This is the reason why RM needs the smoke to gap close and win closed up engagements. I think relic can make the same change on RM rifle smoke, reduce the range of smoke when RM is supressed, allows the machine gun to reposition. Maybe reduce the dps of USF lmg, and make it 2x for the riflemen.
RM is currently not the backbone of the USF force.