Thats some wise words, thanks mate. I will likely take a look at both :-) Managed to leave the scout outside of the smoke in the next episode and it got one shotted so maybe Tank/Cannon needs to come out and play :-)
Tank/Cannon is basically a Heavy Cannon with Autofire option and explosive Ammo, later there is also a Alien Alloy Version of it. Its totally ok vs Muton but doesn't have a good chance vs armored Targets like Cyberdiscs. If you research HWP Repair and you recover the complete Tank corpse from the mission it was destroyed on you can repair the tank for 50% of initial costs. Als works for Armor, once you researched the appropriate topic.
Getting the Scout Drone one shotted is unfortunate, especially early on. But better the drone then a soldier.
Your Skyranger can hold up to 3 drones. they do have 45 front armor and 90 HP, so Plasma Pistols and Rifles can be mostly survived easily. The main strong point of the drone is the small hitbox I gave it.
Possible loadouts for the Skyranger:
14 Soldiers
12 Soldiers, 2 Drones
10 Soldiers, 1 Tank
8 Soldiers, 1 Tank, 2 Drones
6 Soldiers, 2 Tanks
5 Soldiers, 2 Tanks, 1 Drone
Just experiment