If talk about how penals have been power creeped it needs to stop, that sounds like a suggestion of nerfs
If I I want Penal nerfed that is what I would have suggested. I would suggest sticking what has been suggested instead of the "sound" of things. This is what other users do and you post are usually of better quality than that.
I also don't see how the current trajectory isn't an attempt at making them more useful. Making the AT variant better at AT seems to be doing just that
It is an attempt at making them more useful but in the wrong direction. It another bandaid on stock pile of banaids.
Allowing penal to fill all role from superior AI, to Anti LV to, to anti medium is simply bad design especially in faction with some many unit available to them stock and doctrinal.
T1 and Penal simply need a redesign, with the current designs they will either dominate the meta or become irrelevant.