Anyone else get this feeling?

I'm watching Maplewood's recent warbond tierlist, and it made me start to notice something. I'm getting the feeling that HD2 YouTubers are going soft on all their ratings ever since they got partnership status. For instance, his praise of the Bushwacker and Liberator Carbine over the Halt and Reprimand does not feel... right. Everyone I've talked to puts the weapons from Viper Commandos right into D/F tier.