the difference with cons is the fact their rifle are crap to begin with. the volks kar 98 is actually decent and the stg44 retain the kar98's long range dps while substantially improving the close range dps.
if the stg44 was replaced with mp40, people are going to complain that they volks get picked off at long range. You want a decent long range weapon for your line infantry. SMG is more suited for special infantry.
Are you sure about that? Because last time i checked the bar does 15 close and 4 damage far and the Volk STG does like 8 damage close and 0 damage far. So more than a 'bit' weaker
your calculate is a bit off if the stg44 does zero damage far.