No, they don't. In real life, no one is there to "take hits". And a tank is sturdier and deals far more damage than someone with a machine gun.
As for your example, the split is made in range and the mobility, not the damage they can cause. A bow does not inherently deals more damage than a sword, its just much much safer to kill someone at long range, especially since you don't respawn.
That's it ! If you want more people playing tanks, create a permadeath ! Everyone will want to survive above all ! /jk :p
In the end, the role repartition has nothing to do with how real life works. A dagger does not deal more damage than a 2-handed Axe or Sword. And let's not talk about bare-handed fight, when you have people with guns.
