Duritz,
I agree with you in theory, but I still think the concept of balance in Mechassault is so far out of whack that it's just impossible to make a fair comparison to PS.
I had a couple slightly different roles in mind, though.
As for the VS, I can definitely see a team of them really rasing some hell, flanking a base and the like. I still think they'd be meat against another MAX in the open, though, and let's face it -- you're in a TR/NC MAX, and see a couple VS troops one way, and a VS MAX the other - who's gonna be your primary target? MAX vs. MAX will happen, and it'll happen quite often.
I think the TR MAX is going to be more of a fire support role, though. Camping chokepoints would definitely be their forte, but I doubt anyone's going to want to get a MAX so they can sit around and wait for someone to come to them.
I can see them digging in just behind the spearhead, though, and laying down obscene amounts of cover fire.
As for the NC MAX, I'm still up in the air. I guess it depends on exactly how variable that choke is on the A-I MAX. They seem very versatile, though... I get the impression the A-I MAX will be able to go from heavy assault to fire support quite comfortably. I have my reservations about the other NC MAXes, though, as I've heard they can't fire without lock, and that'd make them useless a large part of the time.