Well I played quite a bit on the preview and the aec does not only comes later but it comes much later than the 222 giving it too much control over the game, especially if you are bleeding to a sniper or losing some fights. The 2 indirect nerfs to the aec seems to be enough to prevent it from coming at the same time as the 222, so you already have to babysit the UC or pull it back in base. 222 is also devastating on urban or close maps with the amount of time it can be on the field before the aec comes. For you second point, I think royal engis as starting unit would be the nail in the coffin for ukf's early game, they are so bad it's unreal. They can't win any fight early game vs axis unless they turn a corner, and they can't even provide sight like pios do or build cover to allow for better positionning.
Ive also played a lot of games on these notes(though I have not yet touched v4) and the timings feel more fair now when it comes to the AEC: ukf doesnt have that one optimal trick up its sleeve anymore but has to diversify. When it comes to the royal engineers there could be further compensation though I definitely think thats what necessary to bring ukf inline with other factions designs as the assymetrical design here brings nothing interesting to the table