Doug : you forget Italian Infantry in that list. Not only do they have the same stats as Armored Sarges except for the -1 in armor, they can also get 2 armor upgrades compared to the sarges' 1. Meaning that if Lusted is right in thinking that armor upgrades really add 2-and-something to a unit's actual armor instead of the displayed 1, then they're actually better than them.

Lusted being Lusted, I trust what he says to be right