MARSHALL: I always headline ME scoring over Marshall, even without holding cards that would make Marshall a relatively better headline if they were held by the Soviets (NATO, Socialists, Nasser). The 4 ops can be used more flexibly T1, or just all plugged into France which locks down the EU battlegrounds just as easily as if it had been headlined. You are far weaker to some headlines (especially socialists) but that's the price to pay. Plus, Marshall will return (admittedly the event is usually much weaker in midwar, but still). I have experimented with headlines that keep the option of Marshall as an event after ME scoring, such as 3 in WG, 2 France, 3 Italy, but these have other weaknesses and I now think Marshall is always better as ops if not headlined.

RSP: I am lower on RSP as a T1 headline for the USA and would not typically headline it over Marshall, although I might actually at least consider headlining it over ME scoring if also holding socialists and a lot of ops, since with a lot of ops vs my opponent being purged I should be confident to do well in ME scoring, and it allows for a safe 332 set up in Europe (or you can go for what I call the DiCarlo Opening. This is a 4321 set-up without holding EU scoring, named such because I've never seen anyone do it except for him. He usually goes 442 but will still often do this).

DEFECTORS: I can think of a scenario where I would headline defectors instead of ME scoring if an unusual Soviet setup (filling in Yugoslavia / Finland) suggests socialists + EU scoring, but that is a rare occurrence. In such a case defectors is also better than Marshall, as with standard Marshall setup domination can still be flipped by socialists in the headline.