Yep. Keep talking.
Either I communicated poorly or too basically, or some are just too full of themselves to make an effort of considering that maybe they misunderstood, but I explain:
Individually, given tanks that are actually on the battlefield, in an actual tank v. tank battle, functional, and in proper fighting trim, with crews that know what they are doing, I'd rather be in the Panther or Tiger than the Sherman. This is what I based my post on. Had I known it would encourage the sort of "feedback" it's gotten, I've would have gone through the trouble to point that out specifically to mitigate this godawful bloody mess.
Strategically, the Sherman absolutely wins hands down. Ease of manufacture, standardization of parts, logistical compatibility and minimal logistical footprint, relative ease of strategic and tactical mobility, operational flexibility, and - against most other armor it could potentially face - stands a good chance of beating, particularly against PzIIIs and PzIVs and all their chassis-based variants. The Sherman wasn't primarily designed to fight tanks because, within American armored doctrine of the time (before that got "debunked") M4s would support the infantry and exploit breakthroughs, while the M10s with their (at the time) larger 76mm guns would specifically deal with enemy armor. Allied air superiority over Western Europe went a long way in making the M4 crews lives a little easier.
The thing that the late-war German armor had going for it was it's ability to fight and destroy tanks - as long as they were in good working order. They were, however, over-engineered, logistical and maintenance nightmares, complex and expensive to produce, and requiring relatively lengthy training periods. I also know that that latest model Panthers had issues with it's front glacis owing to a lower production standard reducing the quality of face-hardened armor.
Yes, I've learned all this already, because - to your doubtless utter disbelief, Jeep - I also own and read books on the subject. Obviously, there is much more to get into, but for the sake of expediency I'll stop there.
I know the M4 is a good tank. For pete's sake, it's my favorite tank of the war. But in an actual tank v. tank fight, there are better performers, and like it or not, that's established fact.