Sanders once said the 10 pop stayed due to triple zooks. Which logically in turn means that AI Rangers could be worth only 9 population, but well.
Overall they are an okay squad, but bland in their design and gameplay.
I mean, don't the triple zooks do the same damage as 2 schrecks while costing more, having less pen and have to hit 3 times rather than 2 times to do the same thing while also dropping less.