has BHVR just completely given up on solo queue? The last AMA made it sound like they have...

Picking perks is about give and take. You want more info then run info perks and accept that you'll give up a boost somewhere else. Not using the perks don't make you automatically lose, plenty of folks don't run info perks and do well. If you need or want the extra info, but still decide not to expend a perk slot on then that is reckless player choice. The game isn't designed around real time information passing that you get from coordinated voice chat. It can make the game much harder for killers and much easier for survivors. That said it doesn't mean SWF should have a -3 perk slots as a drawback. You can't balance the use of systems not in the game, but here is the real kicker; You as a survivor are NOT PLAYING AGAINST SWFs. The difference in gameplay experiences between SWFs and Solo Q players has very little bearing on the problems that affect someone playing solo.

SWFs and Solos are playing with the exact same balance against the exact same killers and the only real difference is solo players are more likely to play like teamwork is optional. To drive this home even further SWFs and solo players are even playing in the exact matches with each other as teammates with the results largely being the exact same as usual. DBD is a team game and that means it requires survivors to work as a team, but what is preventing that team work from happening isn't a lack of information. It's a lack of player cohesion and bad decision making which aren't things that can be fixed by the devs shoveling mechanics at you.

The game already gives you a ton of information to the point you can literally know what every player is doing at any given moment. You can see every major piece of information necessary at a glance. If that plus perks(that people refuse to use) hasn't improved teamwork then why do you think another mechanical intervention will curb 'free for all' survival habits?

Yes I'm against people asking for SWF to be handicapped mechanically based of a balance decision targeted at regulating something the game can't regulate. A good SWF still has the same effect whether have 4 perks, per person or 1 perk person because coordinated play, team oriented thinking, and the fact they still have access to all the baseline tools solo q has. And again, the gap has been closed as much as it can be mechanically without adding voice chat to the game. Which would be a terrible idea for both balance and general enjoyability of the game. Solo q teams won't coordinate any better and will have the added distractions that come with games with built VC.

I'm not asking solo q players to do anything other than play the game they have in front of them and actually make use of tools they do have already. The problem isn't and hasn't been that y'all lack tools, but that you don't see value in those tools over other things and that generally speaking your fighting against human nature rather than the game or SWFs. What exactly do you expect anyone to do at this point when you yourself have made it clear you don't see using the available tools as worthwhile over other things. You feel you're being forced into a bad situation, but I'm telling you that your situation isn't going to change just from frontloading mechanics in solo q.