As far as concerns about Abimael potentially defecting, I'm not really sure. I could be totally wrong on this, but I get the feeling Eve has very good persuasion traits like Nathaniel, so I personally think the chances of him defecting are about equal on either side. Personally, I'd prefer Shadow Zone simply because I theorize that he won't defect so long as we don't start desecrating bodies or generally acting like madmen. Only place where he wouldn't stand much chance of defecting is at U-ARM wing, but I have doubts that he'd be terribly effective there as U-ARM is probably well trained to handle mutants.

Maria Black seems to be one of the more contested options here. She could do well against either side, though I really think she'd be best for U-ARM. My reasoning here is that her shield is explicitly resistant to tank shells, while it seems to be unproven against mutants. Not to mention that rifle would be amazing against those power suit units the Central Apartment guys had the pleasure of seeing. If you want something against the stronger mutants, I think Carolyn's mech should be up to the challenge.

Morai Lee seems to be mostly unanimous, so I won't go into too much detail. Suffice it to say I don't think one NPC's gonna be enough support for the U-ARM, as they're far tougher than I think we're making them out to be.

Antoinette...I've mostly changed my opinion of her for the Shadow Zone team, if only for the extra mech and the anti-stealth capabilities the doggie can provide. Even then, there's nothing saying she can't send the doggie down the Retrieval Team if they're having issues.

Derek should be pretty mobile, I agree. That said, I think that even with the threat of anti air he might be able to lob a shot or two at those mortars before they realize they actually need anti-air. Could just be dreaming there.

On an unrelated note: OOC post coming when I'm less swamped by schoolwork.