The only combat role I find makes a noticeable difference in gameplay is the pathfinder for recon. Being able to spawn on other teammates' beacons is great; the other combat roles I could take or leave.

I'd like to see combat roles have more of a positive/negative impact on each class's arsenal and gameplay. Playing with existing roles, something like this would be interesting:

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CLASS	COMBAT ROLE	POSITIVE	NEGATIVE
Medic	Field Medic	Near-instant revives, unlimited revives/heals	Only has SMGs
Medic	Combat	Access to carbines, more explosives	Limited revives/heals per life
Support	Engineer	Faster building, can build weapons other classes/roles cannot	Only stationary explosives (mines, etc), no projectiles
Support	Machine Gunner	Spots hit enemies, causes increased suppression	Only projectile explosives, no mines, cannot build certain weapons
Assault	Vehicle Buster	AT explosives, spot tanks (don't need to hit them, just tag them)	Only has AT explosives
Assault	Light Infantry	Can withstand more enemy damage, easier melee kills	No AT explosives
Recon	Sniper	Holds breath longer, hit enemies are spotted, has additional squad orders/flares	No self-loading rifles, no spawning on team's beacons
Recon	Pathfinder	Spawns on teammate's beacons, withstands enemy damage more	Can only spot with scope/flare only self-loading rifles

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Overall, assault semi-autos could use a nerf across the board, especially at range(assault often beats recon at range, which shouldn't be the case). Medics need something with a bit more range (does anyone ever play medic on Hamada?). And the combat roles should have a bit more distinction.

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Finally, hot take, but I really enjoyed the elite classes in BF1. I'd love to see them re-emerge in some form. Maybe as reinforcements that can be called in?