It might make sense to deal with some of these in a combined thread. I think a lot of people are asking the same right now.
1) With regards to legion traits, their impact is debatable. In general, they mostly benefit players running large infantry squads. For example, in terms of wounds taken,
AL's -1 to hit is only marginally better than Black Legion's +1 morale benefit. The actual number of wounds taken after morale is considered works out to about the same in most situations.
2) Abaddon is great. I run him in all my lists. If it's a choice between him and a
DP /
CL on Bike / something else, that depends on the list. I would not use him in an army that is mostly Preds / Dreds, for example, simply because his aura is not going to do as much.
3) 20 Khorne Berzerkers in 2 Land Raiders not competitive and very expensive. Could work in friendly games. Compared with 3 Predators, I would take the Predators simply because wounds do not spill over between units. It's more for your opponent to have to shoot.
4) Terminators with combi-flamers are subject to the same rules for deep strike as everything else. You will get better bang for your buck with combi-plasma. If you really want to use combi-flamers, that's what Warp Time is for.
5) Raptors die just as easily as basic Chaos Space Marines. If you are going to use them in Deep Strike, use warptime to improve chances of charging, or land behind some cover to plan for an assault the next turn. Instead of a power fist, I would get plasma or melta with Raptors.
6) Elites are not always the best models,
tbh. Yes, Berzerkers have amazing rules, but they also get shot more quickly. I use
CSMs in my lists, they have their roles.
7) With regards to what is strong right now, it depends on how competitive you want to be. This is the army I am running and I believe it consists of the best
CSM units around.
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/739627.page
It's filled with elite units and has had success against most other factions. I would hesitate to call it competitive, as I know it's at a disadvantage against Conscript spam, Orks, Ynarii /
DE lists, and all-Primaris armies. But it's not like they get an auto-win, and most people I know don't play them.
I know I could do better dropping the LasPreds / Defiler and just spamming Malefic Lords + cultists + Earthshaker Batteries from the Renegades and Heretics list. But that's not really competitive to me so much as an abuse of the rules.