I generally agree with the statements. I have made similar experiences when building t3 or t4. It just doesnt seem to pay off enough and i only build one of them if i really have got the upper hand.
Normally i aim for infantry supperiority so 4-5 cons, 1-2 shocks or guards and flamer uprgraded combat engies. To support my struggle against massed Grens i build some kind of inderect fire unit. For AT i build 2-3 ZIS guns, AT nades and tons of mines, which allows me to keep the German tanks on distance so i can gain map controll and bleed the german from ressources and more important VP's. If i need tanks i mostly relie on call ins such as IS-2 or T34-85s.
So my main aim is to keep the upper hand on mapcontroll early into mid game, by building up a strong AI army but only picking fights i can win. I dont hesitate to retreat 5-6 men squads if i know i wount win the engagement. I try to break his bakebone by wiping out as many german infantry units as possible to leave his tanks unprotected. And this is also the weakpoint cause if i dont wipe out enough infantry im in for a long game.
I think its one of the most reliable and low risk strats and works pritty good for my low skill gameplay.