I got MechWarrior 5 recently with the MercTech mod installed and found a pristine Royal Warhammer WHM-6Rb on the black market that I could afford. Being that it was 3016 in the game at the time, I was forced with a choice between that and a Thunderbolt TDR-5S with some minor armor damage: Do I go with one of my favorite battlemechs with dual PPCs and 17 DHS that I can't easily replace at that time, or do I go with a rugged Thunderbolt that can use replacement parts that are easily sourced?
I decided that 17 DHS were worth the maintenance risk and combat performance boost, so I went with the Royal Warhammer! I made some modifications to it, like removing the machine gun and Artemis IV FCS, and replacing all the Ferro Fibrous armor with maximum standard plate, and swapping the two small lasers for medium lasers. It still has 17 DHS and it has performed very well in combat! Though if I start losing DHS due to combat damage, I will still have 11 engine-mounted DHS to provide adequate cooling for the PPCs, and use the extra mass for either another PPC or squeeze in dual large lasers. But that's what might happen if you run a LosTech toy in the Succession Wars, board game or video game campaign!
I'll buy that Thud if I find it again, but if I had to choose between a Thud and a Warhammer? Hmmm more armor and a gun for everything vs. less armor and dual PPCs (though I can modify it into a WHM-6K, roughly, if I wanted to)...