This has nothing to do with the performance of the panther or M8A1, its just bad micro. You could have lost a KingTiger the same way if you used it like that.
Since we're talking about copied equipment, what about captured one?
Soviets used even captured king tigers, but I'd settle with a simple panther and 222. Maybe of one faction heroes will have them used against them in correct way they'll learn to appreciate them
(no seriously, I'd like to experiment with captured tanks use with maybe different vet so base is the same, but scalability plays to the faction it'd be in.
A captured KV2/KV1 for for Wehrmacht would be nice or a grenadier squad with ppshs.
I would love to see coh3 in ww2 afrika with the brits and italians as main factions.
Era could be 1942-1943 and as DLC wehrmacht and us could be introduced.
I do not like to create any balance assumptions at the first glance, before everything is tested properly.
Here are (some of) my ideas, you may try when fighting against conscripts:
OKW
Go Battlegruppe, acquire Flaktrack to crowcontrol conscript blobs. 1-2 hmgs will serve as another wall of deterence, leigh and volks will bleed them once they are supressed. You want to go Flak HQ and go 2 Ober squads to punish his conscripts even further (always keep Obers togehter and upgrade them with lmg 34) and go Panther + JP4 (in this order) to counter his t34/76 spam. Kingtiger at last will seal the deal if this is not already enough.
Go Mechanizes and SPAM Luchses. Your build should be something like 4 Volks, Mech, Rakk, Luchs, Mg34, Luch, Mg34, Puma, Luchs -> what needed.
With this build you should outpower conscripts ealry on, causing massive bleed and not giving your enemy even chance to make it into the lategame. Only threat for your Luchses is t70 (which is sofcountered by Luchs swarm and rakketen, later hardcountered by puma) and su76 which is useless against rakketen and easily routed by a Luchsbait while Puma flanks it from behind.
If you enemy ignores tier3 alltogether, you will very likely baserape him before he even gets his first t34/76 (you will hold whole map). And if anything fails, just pick Special Ops doctrine and Call-in Commado Panther which will thanks to mark target and mobile puma deals with any t34/76 before your opoonent gets critical mass of them
OSTHEER
Classical Mg42 spam (ignoring tier 1 alltogether) into Panzergrenadier spam (with 222/FlammenHT). Best doctrine is Lighting War with its ability to even add ostruppen into your build and allmighty tiger + stuka combo which can hold any t34/76 at bay. The idea of play is simple, have hmgs everywhere, supress conscripts and then kill them with panzegrenadiers. Any stragglers that get past your mg wall are killed by pgren horde. Works every time. You can also go Pak or Stug to hold enemy tanks at bay.
Just remember, fight fire with fire. If he abuses something, you are allowed to abuse like a horse too. And if a blobber gets salty and you win, then its perfect
For Oshteer this will not work. They will spam mortars an AT guns so your mgs will be dead in no time. And if they have an US allies he will spam mortars or mortar half track.
hovering over the AFO Bulletin it shows you need 4 commands points in order the unlock the AFO instead of 2. I don't know if this is the case with every commander that includes the field officer.