Are they? Because last time I checked buggies were 110 points for T6 4+ and 8-9 W. A razborback is 120-130 for T7 10W 3+, and GK have those.
Ork gunwagon and kannon wagon are 170-175 points and fire at BS5+. Both are considered decent at least. BW and Bonebreaka are 155-180, decently solid for their cost, but melee only.
That difference is that it achives a goal. Something can cost 300pts, but if it makes your army work and is efficient, then it i good. A razorback is a 100+pts heavy bolter, which can't even have termintors in it. Want to talk about point inefficiency try to buy a Land Raider to run 5 termintors.
It is when litterally anyone but SM players feel free to use them.
no, dead options are dead. they don't exist. Otherwise you could as well draw the argument that if someone doesn't like their ork army, then they should just buy another army and play that. They are free to use a non ork army too.
It provides lascannon/autocannon/heavy bolter shots and saturation for other armored stuff. Which is what a tank adds in any army. An immolator is also more expensive than a razorback and has a better gun but much shorter range.
In a horde army. Points are equal in different armies. If core of my list costs 1600pts, then a 150 vehicle is a HUGE investment. the same or similar vehicle in an army that ends its core build at 1100 or 1200pts, can fit in more stuff. So unless your games are a squads of sister with an immolator vs a tactical with a razorback, the two things are not the same. Same with your ork example. An ork player can afford to fit in a weaker stuff, because the rest of the army is really cheap.
As I said "problem" with SM is that they have tons of stuff, including uber competitive heavy infantries that make tanks pointless. Remove them and tanks will have a purpose. I only play firstborn marines as I don't like the new one, and I'm pretty happy with the state of my razorbacks and land raider. I can't bring any gravis/primaris dude so tanks look like a legit option to consider. The flyer is utterly expensive though, 370 points is the gunship and it's less durable than a land raider.
That would not happen. If someone nerfs blade guard, predators or impulsors are not suddenly going to become good option. And if you remove attack bikes, then this doesn't suddenly give rise to primaris tanks being run. All it would achive is to make the space marines armies bad, and that is it. And while understand that for some people that is a good goal to have, I would not like to see it. Because
GW for some reason still links my army point costs to marines, while at the same time not linking the rules.