Just a disclaimer to start with, I do not go on these forums religiously so I guess you could call me a “casual” in this sense, but just an idea.
For several Halo games people have consistently wanted different starting weapons, whether it was “I want the DMR instead of the AR” or “I want the BR instead of the SMG” and so on.
Essentially 343 was probably trying to do everyone justice and give you an option which has now currently turned into “this is better than this, but only in this situation”
I am not trying to solve problems or be a peacekeeper, but there is definitely a broader scheme of things here instead of making a “Call of Halo” or “BattleHalo 3”
I know specializations are a whole new beast, but I was just trying to offer another perspective.