I-153: cheap or not?

[dkwookie]

I remember when I used the 153 I was getting 20 odd kills easy. One match I got 31, after which I decided to never use it again.
The problem with it is it requires so little skill to keep on an oponent. I also found the cannon fire strange. After a couple of kills the cannons appear to bug and get a sweet spot kill nearly every turn. It seemed so much like a bug that I fealt bad shooting people down with it.
As for dealing with it, yeah it's pretty straightforward but it knocks the fun out of a match