Cool, thank you.
Maneuvers costing a minor action if everyone possesses the SUT k skill: this applies to non-attack actions in conjunction with the maneuver. For example, if you're performing the Flank SUT maneuver it costs a Major action to attain position... or only a Minor action if everyone possesses the SUT k skill. An actual attack is NEVER reduced to Minor Action. "C'Mon man!" factor, here.
Okay, does that mean if a test is attack-only (Suppressive Fire) or attack + move (Bounding Overwatch), the SUT action always costs a major (and so we get to move for free)?
No, and no.
Think of it this way:
You spend a Major action to "unlock" the bonus listed for the given maneuver.
It's only a Minor action to unlock the bonus if everyone has the SUT knowledge skill.
In the case of maneuvers where a participant must change physical location: that movement is covered in the same action that unlocked the bonuses, and is agnostic to the issue of any potential movement prior to/after that.
Edit: I wanna give an example, since Suppressive Fire was mentioned.
If you spend your Major/Minor to participate in Suppressive Fire, you're laying down some lead (required via the special rules/fluff for the maneuver). You're not rolling to hit though, because you're not attacking (yet). You're just (according to the fluff) spraying an area. Ergo it follows that you should have to be expending some ammunition. How much? GM fiat. It should depend on how many people you're trying to suppress, and/or how many people are contributing. 1 person suppressing? probably take half your clip or so. 5 runners all suppressing? maybe a burst of 4 per runner is enough. etc.
After you spend that Major/Minor action, you're allowed to then spend more Major actions to shoot people. in that same turn if you have the action economy, or perhaps more likely on subsequent round(s) after the maneuver was established.
Teamworking the SUT test: not a requirement, but if you do perform it then it still costs the Major action per usual. (this makes more sense, given the duration will last for some time following the test)
Yes, but it also means teamworking this test will be out of reach for most people due to action economy since they already may be dedicating a Major to the SUT action at the same time.
As Hobbes pointed out, quite a few of the maneuvers are ideally performed before combat even begins. There's no opportunity cost involved in spending that major to participate in teamwork when you're outside combat initiative.
And as for those times when you use SUT under fire: well, can you remember any moment in an action movie or tv show where the heroes are hunkered down behind cover and shouting about tactics? This is exactly that.
SUT under fire: weigh the PRO of getting the maneuver bonuses against the CON of spending a combat round not actively attacking.
A paragraph covering how Drones participate would have been really, really useful here too. I'm missing it already. A SUT autosoft on the RCC and maybe Influence (Leadership) + LOG when commanding a drone unit?
I don't see why a GM couldn't approve a "Small Unit Tactics" autosoft. Although all the Autosofts in the CRB have a rating, so a ratingless Autosoft would be problematic to price. But not impossible.
That aside, I'd just assume the Rigger's SUT knowledge skill (or absence thereof) extends to all Drones under his control. Drones under autopilot... well. Makes sense that they're not the tactical genius a metahuman is. (barring the hypothetical Autosoft)
And - does the author have anything to say about the fail case?
I'm not sure I see what's confusing about what to do if the Influence test fails.
Step 1: A leader is designated.
Step 2: Leader performs test, along with the teamwork assistance from anyone who happened to help.
Step 3: if it turns out the test failed, then the maneuver will give no bonuses.
Step 4: The Major/Minor actions to execute the maneuver are spent. If you were flanking you do your portion of the team executing a pincer, or whatever. But since the test failed, the maneuver doesn't give the listed bonus. Or, perhaps, the GM decides someone fragged up somehow to explain why the maneuver failed (you zigged when you should have zagged!)