the AOE profile of sherman is one of the best. Yes, it has lower OHT radius, but it kills infantry faster and much more reliably thanks to rather tight for a medium scatter and great overall AOE profile.
I'm sure that you posted this after looking up the actual teching costs.
this is a great tank. You people are smoking something weird
The problem is, it has great HE shells and alright AP. But the P-4... just gets both in a single shell type with more armor and more survivable vet. The Sherman might wipe faster, but so does the Cromwell which has great AoE but absolutely garbage OHK radius. I consistently see 2-3 model drops on my conscripts to an initial P-4 shot. That's not just bad luck, that's the great stats of the P-4. I've not seen that on the Cromwell since its AoE was nerfed to hell. Not killing with first shot results in the infantry not actually losing fighting power. That huge OHK radius is why KV-1s felt really oppressive vs all kinds of infantry. I've been rocking a lot of T-34s because they also have 1.13 OHK radius, which slaughters Obers and infantry blobs. Its been my only solid solution to blobs.
If it aint dead it aint bled.
Tech... is complicated. Not gonna start that.