Although I should point out I have no stake in the balance itself as my own skills and experience is dwarfed by 90% of the community, I can still have opinions about the look and feel for different types of units and how they play out.
With that I have two main concerns.
Firstly, before the VA, in general sniper teams fit into the category of setup teams and with that have the array of vulnerabilities and immobilities that setup teams have: i.e. vulnerability to artilery abilities like grenades/mortars/globals, as well as vulnerability to jump/teleport melee units.
Although scouts and rangers both have stealth and detection mechanisms to help them initiate combat, stealth doesn't provide a significant defense against these threats and so the 1.5 second teardown time is an integral balance choice with regard to retreating and responding to aoe burst or gapclosing melee threats.
On the other hand, the new VA, although having similar range and damage to sniper setup teams, plays out as a completley different type of unit, more akin to a zoanthrope than a sniper setup team. In this way, the lack of a teardown time renders the VA much more responsive and less vulnerable to typical anti-setup-team threats.
Secondly, from a purely aesthetic standpoint, I like the setup/windup time of sniper teams. This isn't some AAA shooter game, snipers have to get into position, setup their rifle, aim, and take the shot. Then when finished, they pack up and move somewhere else. There is an enjoyable drama to a sniper team setting up to fire (especially when infiltrated), and a natural tension to the time in which they teardown before they can move.
For the Vindicare specifically, he may as well not even have a scope so far as I've seen the animation use it. The lack of setup/teardown time and the seemless windup/winddown time make the vindicare look more like a wild west gunslinger, throwing his rifle around and often times firing at angles completely different than where the barrel is pointing.
I've seen some games and replays where a Vindicare on the chase will fire the bullet out of the rifle's stock or even his hand, as apposed to originating from the end of the barrel. Adding even the slightest setup-time of .5 seconds would solve that graphical issue, as well as provide more of the balanceless drama that I (as a spectator mostly) enjoy.
Now, with these issues aside, I could also say I am intrigued at a sniper 'setup' team having no or next to no teardown speed, as that would greatly improve the power of sniper teams in general... However, as they are so exclusive to 2.5 races now (see above: is the vindicare even a sniper/setup team as apposed to something different like the zoanthrope) I can say that having a setup/teardown time on snipers is a perfect balance solution to their strengths that can only add interest to the game.
I'm done rambling, Just felt like I wanted to say that even if it's not important.
BY THE WAY, the Vindicare looks great and I can't wait to see where it goes and how the game adjusts to meet it... (although at first I was surprised that vindicare wasn't going to the imperial guard, too much dark crusade
)
TL;DR:
Setup/teardown times for setup teams adds drama, pseudorealism, and provides an interesting method for balance beyond simply adjusting stats.
However, not having a setup/teardown time on a setup team is a very powerful feature that can completely change and redefine the role and usage of that unit.
