Not a big fan of Dan Abnett for the above reasons. (I'm a McNiel fan, but I also like Sandy Mitchell : o)

I kind of think Eldar weapons make sense compared to Imperial if you discard the points costs. Brightlances are more advanced Lascannons against AV 13+ (But sacrifice a bit of power), Starcannons are more advanced plasma guns because they don't overheat (Again sacrificing 1 Str), melta weapons are the same, the EML is just a better Missile Launcher.

In 3rd edition, Shuriken Catapults used to be (IMO) better than bolters. And we were the only army that had a whole squad that got meltaguns, and a whole squad that got power weapons (Other than Incubi) and.... damn, I miss the old days.

So yeah. need new book.