You do realize that 1 tiger/elefant costs as much as 2 x T-34s?
I don't think people are very happy about the elephant.
Point is, T34 needs to be swarmed to be effective? I think that defines it as ineffective by default. I don't ever see that happening in even matches. in order for it to happen you would need to never lose any, and if THAT is happening, you are not in an even match.
Tier 3 is a landslide tier for sovs and leaves you handicapped for late game, in an even match, in my experience.