for the rest of the history of online gaming
When did I say, "for the rest of the history of online gaming"?
we should never be able to get these things in games because of idiot teammates
What are "these things"? If you mean vehicles, I didn't mind when TItanfall came out and literally everyone got TItans. But that was balanced by the fact that everyone on the enemy team could also get Titans. Guess what? Rebels don't get AT-AT's. And, considering the scale with which Battlefield games are, I don't think someone's idea of a good time is spawning all the way from the action because someone got distracted by something totally inconsequential. Like a tauntaun.
This is where playing on adminned servers comes into play.
When did I say anything about those? I'm talking from a purely gameplay perspective, not a metagame perspective.
As for their depiction in BF1/2, this is about making better map design and better AT-AT design
Alright, what would you do, Mr. Game Designer? Strap rockets to the AT-AT? Make them able to move like a cat?
You can only do so much as a game designer to keep the depiction of the vehicles in game true to the movies. They tried in BF 1 and 2, and, they sorta made it work. But only sorta. You could still shoot the shield generator on Hoth, after all, which was it's own command post that couldn't be retaken, which would have edged the playing field and made the loss of an AT-AT not as big a deal.
The tendency in gaming these days is toward sandbox play
I have no idea about the tendency nowadays, but there's always been room for games for every different playstyle and every different genre. If I want to play a sandbox, fine, I'll go play Fallout or Far Cry or whatever. But if I want to play a team-based game, I'd rather that, if me and my teammate are clear across the map, that they also be working together to try and beat this thing. That's where the fun comes from--taking hold of this stuff and mowing down people you've never met and winning (or losing) a game. But my point is I'd feel more comfortable if I knew the team gave it our best shot, not sat in a corner jumping up and down, and then getting mowed down by a speeder bike. Sure, that works for Internet videos, and I'm all for a little player-made humor once in a while, but come on. I came to the game to take names and have fun doing it. If that means I have to turn the AT-AT head and shoot the guns only, I'm totally fine with that.