Yes, the JP is much more like the SU85 than the Panther.
And I see your implication: that the SU85 is the top end of sov TD, while OKW still has panther, JT and KT to go to if their JP is at risk of being circle strafed, not to mention an excellent medium P4.
Good point btw, the panther is indeed excellent at circle-strafing the SU85 (and would also circle strafe the JP if it had to face it, ofc; e.g. if one got captured).
Point has very little do with Panther vs Su-85 and more to do with mediums.
Yes, SU-85 is closer to JP, a comparison with stug G would even closer in that case Stug is simple more cost efficient than JP vs mediums but that is rather irrelevant to the current debate. It has been argued that JP is not used because Panther is good vs mediums which simply is not the case.
On the other hand if you want to compare the SU-85 and JP the Su-85 is cheaper, with significantly lower XP value, with better mobility, having the same pop while it superior vs heavily armored target with its superior penetration. JP simply has superior frontal armor which is not that important for 60 range unit.
But If you generally want to debate TDs I would suggest you start a thread about them since this is general discussion feeback thread .