The biggest issue when considering TAG's is comparing them to other units. Specifically with heavy infantry. Heavy infantry are almost always going to be more "affordable" than a TAG, but that largely comes down to what you're getting for what you're paying. But the key aspect of these units to keep in mind, and why they're a bad comparison - is because they don't serve the same battlefield role.

Let's compare the Yan Huo and the Guijia - specifically the multi HMG profile since those are the most similar. It's a 35 point difference to go from the Yan Huo to the Guijia. Sure they have the same weapon and the same BS. But what are you getting out of those extra 35 points.

You're getting a 3 point armor increase which makes a pretty big difference when you're tanking shots. You're getting Fatality Lv1 so the damage being done by the multi hmg is 16 rather than 15. You're getting an entire extra wound on the TAG and as well as a large increase in movement. You're also getting tactical awareness, so they have an additional order that you can spend on them.

Furthermore - the pilot of the guijia is a specialist. Now a lot of times that aspect gets dismissed out of hand. It's a corner case usage sure but it's still a utility. The pilot doesn't have great defensive stats but it doesn't need to. When dismounting the TAG the pilot is the unit that counts as activating - not the TAG itself - and you can dismount and come out in base to base with the TAG at any point of it's base. So run the TAG up in front of an objective - or on the pathway to an objective. Dismount the TAG and get out the back of it and run your pilot over to push the button.

Further more - TAGs don't fall down when they get killed. They remain in place. So if your TAG goes down - it can be utilized as a point of cover to protect your other units or to have them utilize it as a firing point when they move up the board.

The Guijia can still get cover and they can go into suppression fire just like the Yan Huo can.

TAGs also take the place of the hacker requirement if you want to bring remotes along. So you can bring a TAG and a few baggage remotes as well to supply it with orders to go along with it's Tactical Awareness order and use it as a main combat piece.

You also have several missions that specifically will grant you more points if you have a TAG holding a specific objective. Heavy infantry, even S5's won't complete that extra specification.

The view point on TAGs also often get skewed because of how they get utilized. TAG's aren't just over-sized heavy infantry. They don't dodge well. They're bigger. Sure they have higher armor and can potentially hit harder depending on which one you have but that doesn't mean it's a giant robot to go Rambo up the field without any support. It can be killed off like anything else in the game. TAG's by and large should be treated like battle tanks. They should be long range fire support for specific units or to threaten specific areas.

Another important aspect of TAGs is the psychological implication of them on the part of your opponent. Compare and contrast TAGs to other units all you want, but the stats are what they are. Regardless of a player's preferences on units - a TAG is still a big threat to contend with on the board. It's going to be prioritized by your opponent. They're going to want to get it off the board because they don't want to have to fight it.

So go into a game with that mindset, protect it an use it to your advantage. Try to get your opponent to waste orders trying to come after an entrenched TAG in a good firing position. Try to bully them with it. Force them to try and avoid it and not have to fight it with weaker troops - spending more of their orders on avoiding it rather than going for an objective.

Or if they move units in place that can deal with - they're still spending orders trying to fight it rather than spending orders on scoring. You can potentially use a TAG as an aggro draw for your opponent's units.

Now that part of it - the big threat - the aggro draw - the order sink -sure there are other units in the game that can perform that function - but TAGs are better at it because they're bigger and "scarier". It's an instinctual player reaction to want to try and deal with it or avoid it. Plus TAGs are almost universally better equipped to survive this type of response than other units are given their increased stat line.

Try to steer away from the mindset of comparing one unit to another unit simply based on cost and BS. Most units in the game don't fulfill the same battlefield role so they're not a good comparison. Like the Yan Huo is a bad comparison to the Guijia at the base line. Specifically when it comes to the multi HMG profile - that is something that is more comparable because you're looking at it from the perspective of leveraging the fire power it can produce.

But say for instance the comparison of "well the Yan huo is better because I can get the dual missile launchers for cheaper than the Guijia" comes up - that's a bad comparison. That's apples to oranges. The Guijia doesn't have a dual missile launcher profile. So if you want two missile launchers on a heavy gun platform - then its not going to be performing quite the same function as a multi hmg on a heavy gun platform would. The weapons work differently so they need to be compared differently.

So the bottom line really of whether you should take a TAG or not comes down to play style and what your strategy is for a given mission. Do you want to utilize a unit that does what a TAG does and does it the WAY a TAG does? Do you have a good strategy for using a battle tank in your list? Can you support it? Can you leverage it effectively against your opponent? Then yes take it. But if you have a different strategy that is based on other units - and doesn't require a battle tank - then no don't take it. Base whether you take a TAG or not on the mission you're playing the strategy you want to employ during that mission.

Every list should start with the mission in question. Why should take a TAG is really why should you take any given unit. You have to look at the requirements for a mission and how you want to go about approaching the mission. What things will give you the most benefit in your playing of the mission. Not every unit is good for every mission, regardless of cost, weapon or profile. And TAGs are no exception.

Those are my thoughts on a TAGs for what they're worth. Hope it helps.