Personally, I just use megamek's house rules when I play tabletop. Infantry don't count for initiative, they just automatically go once you've moved half your stuff. And if you outnumber someone with a tank swarm it front-loads the initiative so that you're moving multiple things for your initiative phases rather than your last ones.
Front-loading initiative in asymmetrical battles was something MY group was doing before Megamek was a gleam in anybody's eye-because initiative sinking was an OBVIOUS problem waaay back.
FSM was trying to address it, without addressing it. (Possibly because it was a popular 'tactic'?)
one other thing we've experimented with tabletop-wise, in addition to front-loading, is applying an initiative PENALTY for larger forces (because that's actually more realistic-larger groups are harder to coordinate than smaller groups) and an offset for having units with command-and-control type systems (C3, C3i, Command Console, etc)
on the map.
for those unfamiliar with front-loading initiative...
Player A has 12 units, player B has 10 units.
Player A loses initiative.
PLayer A moves 2 units, player B moves 1, Player A moves two, B moves 1, Player A moves 1, player B moves 1 and so on until B moves his last unit and the firing phase begins.
this is pretty much the inverse of standard initiative rules, where player A ends up with a positional advantage because the bulk of B's units have already moved, and he can still move two more before B moves his last.
where the "Sinking" comes in, is that under the standard rules, it makes the most sense to move your least valuable/useful units FIRST. in front-loading you still do that, but it doesn't buy you the slack that standard rules gives you when you do that-you run out of 'popcorn' and have to actually commit to a course of action with your high-value assets.
What FSM did, as pointed out, was force combined-arms players to take massive hits to p/g for their units while allowing 'mech-only players to take munchkinism to new heights.
Things like...taking a single optimized customized Clan-experimental-tech assault with a 0/0 gunnery up against a lance of ULTRA green lights, and calling it 'fair' because the FSM-modified BV said so.
(By ultra-green, we're talking 7/8 on 3025 lights and PSRs for running them, vs. a single machine that can one-shot through the torso or strip limbs with his SECONDARY weapons-and a 0/0 gunnery/piloting so that one-shot happens NOW.)
basically, FSM was the Prsno River codified into the game, and would make lone assault 'mech players into Aidan Pryde-but without the risk.
Removal of FSM was a very good thing for the state of the game-with it gone, you can actually set a BV on saturday night for next saturday's match, and NOT be fighting lone-gunman duels all night against identical opponents when it's game-time. You might actually face something different, or try something different to work around new tactics or tactical approaches. downside, of course, is the Savannahmaster swarm (the OTHER motive for FSM).
dealing with savannahmaster swarms in a "Match BV" match, goes to terrain selection or objectives for the matches. (or combinations of those). lots of woods, terrain, buildings and rubble help here-Hovers like the SM don't do well when the terrain isn't flat or doesn't offer lots of flat-smooth running with only a few clumps of cover (aka, savannahswarming works best on open terrain. if you have one of these in your group, make sure you pick maps that grant lots of chances for his hovers to become one with terrain features on a sideslip or skid...or that channel him onto roadways that limit his engagement envelope while not hampering your more varied units.) and, of course, don't forget to bring your LBX's.
