Sorry but wouldn't this require some changes to Shocks and Guards as well? I am really curious what kind of scaling do you have in mind as it is my understanding that Cons current state it's an outcome of design choice.
Popular reference to Volks doesn't quite fit here as they only scale in form of survivability rather than overall performance. Sure they got Shrecks but first of all they only have one piece of this equipment and second of all they're lacking any form of vehicle snare (which is only available to OKW through doctrinal infantry.). I ma not talking about the subject of Vet5 as I believe this is an OKW specific feature and it applies to all OKW units.
When playing Soviets I have been always using Cons as utility unit late game rather than main fighting force, unless equipped with doctrinal PPSH, relying solely on Shocks and Guards to do the heavy lifting. I mean as pointed out before merge itself is a very potent ability that allowed me to save a unit or a weapon platform and simply stay on the battlefield and fight, retreating and reinforcing a Cons squad instead.
I guess my biggest concern is that when Cons will be scaling late game then this may cause some serious balance issues since we will be facing a strong 6 men squad backed up by very strong Elite infantry. I mean Shocks are pain to deal with as they are right now (NOT saying they are OP btw). I fear that this combination would simply be too strong.
Even when you consider other factions "elite " squads they're usually four men (with some exception) which kind of make them vulnerable to counters. After all it's easier for T-34 to kill a Gren squad than for PzIV to finish off a squad of Cons.
To be honest I would love to see something done to Penals as right now they are this weird unit that serves no purpose. In my opinion anyway.
don't worry, i don't think anyone wants to buff cons to the point whee they can a-move and destroy everyone. Changes will obviously come to other units to help smooth things out. I think the concept behind buffing cons is that they are the main fighting force of USSR (their descriptions says they are the core of the Soviet army). They should be useful late gae and not just utility units.
obviously, you are bound to replace your crappier units for elite units, but cons supposed to be the heart of USSR and are built early in the game in somewhat significant numbers (2-3). Thshould be some kind of reward for keeping these units alive and vetted. When people say they are good meat shields, this is kind of silly. Other units die as well just like conscripts. Conscripts are also very fragile even with vet3.