Here is something else to consider. This is not meant as criticism, or a vote either way. This is just something that needs to be considered before a final decision is made.
A couple of weeks ago, a group of us were about to capture a base. I noticed an LA headed for the town on the deck, but then no one could find him. We all figured he had crashed. Our C-47 dropped troops, and the troops ran all the way to the map room, but didn't take.
I figured the pilot of the LA had bailed, and was in the town waiting for the troops. So I bailed out over the town and went looking. Sure enough, I found the pilot running around. I mentally congratulated the pilot for being so sneaky, then I shot him. We made a second troop drop, and captured the base.
A pilot on the ground has no icon, and is nearly, if not totally, invisible from the air. In AH2, you could run into the map room, and wait inside for the troops. In AH 3, you can't enter the map room, but there are many places you can hide. If you strafe the map room, there are still many places a pilot can hide out, and still intercept the incoming troopers. In the aforementioned story, we did strafe the map room, but the pilot survived to intercept our troops.
Now, I like dropping troops from a C-47. But from this experience I concluded that it would be preferable to run an M3 all the way to the map room and release troops there, so I could guard against a lone pilot hiding in the rubble.
Again, not a vote either way, just something to consider.
