Now, I'm not in a clan, but I play TFC a lot. I've seen spam, and I can understand their limiting of the grenades, but that really doesn't affect my playing style. I do that with every class, if I know I'm gonna die, I chuck out one of the grenades. Nothing more enjoyable than watching people cuss ineffectually at you trying to goad you into telling them where you're sitting. An experienced player can really take advantage of this class if he puts in the time.
Soldiers are strong, there is no doubt about it.
If they suck, they'll go down easy. It's not like a newbie playing a certain class will instantly become unstopable. I think that your are missing the point of knowing that someone who gets so many points is automatically good. I feel kinda bad for using your mail as a way to vent a couple of my thoughts, as you have some good ones too. Dear Planetfortress, I think TF2 will be the only title that I'm eager to get my hands on this year.