So I got the AE Phase 1....

Draschel:  AE Phase 1 is M103, but better. Less weakness, more flexibility, more mobility,  At the cost of raw offense, like DPM, accuracy, aim-time. I just think AE has better practical offense    In terms of weakness, AE presents significantly better LFP, sides, turret roof, stronger/smaller cupola. This allows it to do more things like sidescrape, or bully tier 7s which can still penetrate M103 easy. M103 is also far more vulnerable to HE, the sides drop to 44mm. And prone to those 120-122mm overmatch, alot of the turret roof still is 38mm   While the DPM and aim-time/accuracy of M103 are better, this will only matter at shorter ranges. AE has superior dispersion stats, meaning its ability to fire on the move is far better. This is very important, and leaves the vehicle feeling more comfortable.   Mobility is important, and M103 is already quite mobile to begin with. AE improves on that, by adding top speed, HP/T, track traverse across the board.