Three things;
1. Too long, didn't read.
2. You obviously have never heard of the NGE for SWG back in the day.
3. (Team Fortress 2 heavy voice)Cry some moar!
I'm really enjoying the changes as an arsenal merc. I honestly can't believe people were freaking out so bad about the nerfing. It happens.. the game's new, give it time to grow.
I'm about to roll a merc BH in about 5 minutes but after reading all this I want to know if it'll be viable in PVP (That's all I really do) after the patch. A nerf is a nerf, but they should still be ok, right?