ooooh finally a decent counterargument
Yes it is true that the Wehrmacht had combined arms set up to deal with tanks and it's also true that most tanks overall were destroyed by infantry based AT weapons such as AT guns, but the idea that the Panzer 3 and 4 were "utterly helpless" against the T-34 in 1941 is completely false. The T-34 may have had more arnor and more penetration than the Panzers but this didn't mean they were helpless. Both Panzers had several advantages over the T-34 which allowed them to defeat their more armored foes.
while you are correct that the T-34 mod 41 had its disadvantages... ranging from the mundane such as the inadequacy of the cyclone engine filter to the glaring weaknesses such as the lack of a cupola/radio/turret basket and the 2 man turret... all these disadvantages except one are not too relevant when the opponent cannot even penetrate your armor...
of course the exception im referring to is armor quality... im surprised you havent mentioned how early T-34s were vulnerable to 37mm guns at close range when the pzgr hit the welding spot between the hull plates... im also surprised that you didnt mention the spalling issue the T-34 had aswell...
now as for whether panzer 3s and 4s were helpless... im still inclined to the idea that they were helpless... since in a direct engagement between panzer 3/4s vs T-34s the former would require a near point blank shot fired at just the right area of the T-34 in order to cause penetration...
this means the panzer 3/4 is utterly helpless in normal combat ranges (500-1000) despite the T-34 being blind as a bat at long range (2km) engagements... and would have to be dangerously close in order to knock out T-34s... at which point i doubt even the worst T-34 crew would have a problem with...
The Panzers 3 and 4 had much better optics than the T-34 as well as more vision ports and probably most importantly the commander had a cupola which allowed him to observe the battlefield and identify targets much faster and easier than the T-34. This is especially important when you know that the main deciding factor in a tank engagement is which tank sees the other and fires first because even with a non-penetrating hit the crew will still be confused and probably panicking aswell. In addition to much better vision, each Panzer 3 and 4 was also equip with a radio which meant that movement and attacks could be much better coordinated and that Panzer 3s and 4s could react much faster and easier than a group of T-34s could. The Panzer 3 and 4 were also more reliable than the T-34 especially in 1941 and as you've already mentioned the ergonomics of the Panzer 3 and 4 are much better aswell.
the real advantage isnt soo much soo optics here tbh... soviet optics (albeit crude at the time relying on a single tube as opposed to the hinge type german optics).. had fairly good lens quality...until the factories were moved to the urals that is... but no the real advantage here is the commander`s cupola... and while your response is correct it is not entirely complete....
the original T-34 was designed around the soviet strategy of fighting unbuttoned... this was a horrible concept... since in battle the commander is effectively blind without the presence of the commander`s cupola... in order for soviet tankers to spot targets effectively (since the periscope is quite narrow) soviet tankers literally had to unbutton their tanks... this of course left commanders vulnerable to enemy fire which caused a large portion of T-34 commanders to get sniped from enemy fire... after that the overall fighting effectiveness of the tank that recently lost its commander crashes to near zero and the tank is essentially useless...
of course the russians werent stupid...supposedly this would be rectified with the T-34M however that variant never came into production thanks to barbarossa.... eventually however they introduced the cupola on the T-34-85 which fixed the issue of the 2 man turret aswell (but did not introduce the cupola)
So basically while the T-34 might look good on paper with it's better armor and gun, the reality especially in 1941 was that the Panzer 3 and 4 were much more effective fighting tanks because they could be operated much more effectively and bring what they had to bear on the enemy faster which is why many T-34 were easily outflanked by German tanks due to being practically blind and having no good line of communication with their fellow tanks.
while you are correct that the gap between the T-34 and panzer 3 arent as large as the paper stats suggest... the probability of a panzer 3 knocking out a T-34 at combat distances is close to impossible regardless of the disadvantages....
the panzer 3 instead close in enough to accurately hit the joint between the welds of the armor in order to score a penetrating hit... the probability of this... though far more likely than an engagement from standard combat distances... still seem very unlikely...
I encourage you to watch "Panzer III vs. T-34 (featuring Cheiftain)" by Millitary History Visuallized, it's a very interesting and informative video.
i am quite familiar with MHV and ive watched several of his episodes including the panzer 3 vs T-34 and the panzer 4 vs sherman videos...
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