Nice write-up.
It seems obvious that if what you want is an armored personnel carrier, you don't start with a marginally-powered 4X4, and start tacking on armore.
By the same token, what we need is not quite an APC. An APC is designed to carry infantry into high intensity battle. What we need is a vehicle that can be handed out to anyone and everyone and used for all sorts of things...driving commanders around, small supply runs, moving a few people around, and probably most important of all, patrolling.
Our army is one of the few does not have a purpose built scout reconnaisance vehicle...they are either in humvees (general utility vehicle) or Bradleys (slightly modified IFVs). If we had one, it would probably be closer to the requirement than anything else we have...but it still wouldn't be quite right.
That is my point...we have a new need with new requirements, and we should give our troops a vehicle designed for that mission. We don't even have to make it part of a unit's TO&E...we can just hand it out in addition to units meeting the need. Units going to Iraq fall in on them, and units leaving leave them behind.