As someone who has started over completely on Spacelords, going from a veteran player who is max level on Xbox but is now a tier 6 on steam, I can see why they did the new Aleph system, however, I can see the major flaws with the system. The new Aleph system helps newer players sense we get matched with higher tier players. The matches are typically harder which means adds are stronger and as a low tier player it takes more than 2 to 3 hits to kill an elite. However, on the flip side most of the Aleph points are in antagonist spawn and like you mentioned now that elites don't drop anything other than ammo now most low tier players wont kill them anymore.
The thing about playing against an antagonist is a challenging topic for me now. As a max ranking person I love to see an antagonist because it provides a challenge to the game (when the adds aren't instantly downing you in one or two hits). However, as a low tier it sucks to have an antagonist especially if they are a higher tier with much better guns against your low tier raider group. If there is a tier 1 raider sure I get it but not if we are all tier 4's and below. That is why I say the MMR system should be removed and matchmaking should be determined but the tier levels. Tier -, 6, and 5, get matched with that, tier 5, 4, and 3s get matched up with that, and tier 3, 2, and 1 get match with that.
As for the CQC system...it is broken right now I don't know how they managed that. Over cover grapples completely fail every time, punches are not beating grapples and grapples are not beating dodges. Dodges seem to be the only thing saving people right now. On top of all that I tested this while my ping was PERFECT so I cant blame the ping. As of right now your best bet is to lower your MMR to have fun...Just know if you are gonna antag with a low MMR you will be hurting newer players and they might leave the game making the game suffer even more so