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Looking at the 8th edition indexes for Chaos and Imperium vehicles. With all the talk about additional balance in the game, noting some of the discrepancies.

- Chaos Predators are 10 power, Imperial Predators are 9. Identical stats, but the Imperial ones can also take a Hunter Killer missile.

- Chaos Vindicators are 11 power, Imperial Vindicators are 8. Identical stats, but the Imperial ones can also take a Hunter Killer missile.

- Chaos and Imperial Land Raiders are both 19 power with the same stats. But the Imperial one get POTMS, a Hunter Killer missile, and can take an additional gun. The Chaos one gets Daemonic Machine Spirit, which restores one lost wound each turn.

So Imperial tanks are cheaper for more weapons and better rules. The single advantage CSM tanks have is DMS, which only applies to the Land Raider.

The differences are not as pronounced as in earlier editions, but are still alive and well. But this is different than in previous editions when you consider points versus power levels. If the army was priced on points, the Imperial player would need to pay for all the excess weapons. If the army was priced on power levels, the Imperial player gets the extra weapons without consequence to other unit selections.

In a power-level-based game, I think the CSM strategy would be to take 10+ more power than the opponent to make up for the difference. It would give the opponent the ability to reroll a single die during a game, but make up for it with more firepower.

I think we could call this the new balance. I like it, even if the rules aren't hard and fast.

You're wrong about the chaos land raider, it also ignores the penalty to firing heavy weapons on the move. It doesn't have a self-repair mechanic. You've gotten that rule mixed up with something else.

As for preds/vindicators, you're analysis is also wrong. You've failed to take into account 3 points -

1.) Chaos vehicles have the [mark of chaos] rule, that whilst doing nothing right now, might have an impact once the codex drops. Perhaps the difference in points is accounting for this eventuality.

2.) Chaos vehicles can take havoc launchers in place of hunter-killers. A HK missile is a single use krak missile - not terribly scary. Havoc launchers are an extra weapon you can fire the entire game - they add an extra heavy weapon to the vehicle profile, one that's around the same level as a heavy bolter. That's a clear advantage.

3.) You can take combi-weapons on chaos vehicles. Loyalists get a storm bolter, that's it. Chaos get combi-flamer/melta/plasma. The shots from that special weapon are significantly better than the extra couple bolter shots the loyalists get.

In short chaos vehicles have way more firepower, which in a power level game is accounted for in the differing costs. For power levels you're paying for the maximum potential of the unit, not buying it at budget level as you might do with a naked unit in matched play. Also regarding the vindicator, having that 36" havoc launcher gives your tank a decent range advantage over the loyalost version, against the types of targets you're most likely shooting at - infantry. Your vindicator now has a 46" threat range vs the 34" of the loyalist version. You're paying for that.