In Killing Floor, perks apply to weapons that people purchase or find on the map, but otherwise everyone has the same player traits. For example, a Firebug and a Support both start out with just a pistol and the same movement/health traits, but the Firebug gets more flamethrower damage, and the Support gets more shotgun ammo.
I feel that would fit Halo’s style better than the current perks do. For example, wheelman gives drivers a boost but doesn’t affect their combat capability upon spawn. They have to go and gain a vehicle first.
What if we applied that to various power ups or power weapons? Like someone can select the ‘runner’ perk and gain a bonus to speed boosts, or someone could select ‘explosives’ and gain a bonus to explosive weapon radiuses. Or someone has a perk that gives them more zoom with the sniper rifle. I could think up endless examples.
Everyone would start out the exact same, but they would define their playstyles by combining the perks they selected with weapons on the map. It would encourage the use of on-map items, and it would still follow the core of “everyone on equal footing, better player wins”.