POV : you command a tank but canny

Reasons why I put the tank where they are (warning : it's so fricken long) :

10. T-72S
One of the most numerous tanks in service is the good old T-72, however this isn't your ordinary Monkey type export variant (the T-72M1, yes it's literally called that), this is in fact a T-72S Shilden, the export va has better armor, sights, gun, and mobility, the reason why it's in the 10th position is because it's okay-ish, it may have been better than the T-72M1 but it sorta lags behind newer tanks, as it only had night vision with infrared searchlights and no thermal sights, as well as the older 2A46M gun that's only able to fire rounds up to the 3BM42 Mango only, newer T-72 tanks were equipped with 2A46M-5 guns, this tank is also equipped with the older Kontakt-1 ERA, effective against HEAT and APHE (if anyone still uses those), but not against APFSDS, overall, it's better than nothing, and certainly better than having T-55s or T-62s as your main MBTs.

9. Type 96B
The Type 96B is a further development of the second-generation Type 96A MBT, it had an improved protection with applique armor and FY-4 ERA over the already strong composite armor, it also had the new ZPT-98 125mm smoothbore gun and a more powerful 1200hp engine, the tank also had a digital Fire Control System (FCS) with a thermal imager for the gunner, which is significantly better than the T-72S, the gun can also fire more effective projectile such as the 125-II with 310mm penetration at 60° @ 2km, however the tank still doesn't have a Commander's Independent Thermal Viewer (CITV), meaning he had to rely on the gunner's thermal to spot targets easily, the side armor protection is not as good either, the armor behind the tracks are just simple steel plates, and the sideskirts don't reach that far down, making that area of the tank more vulnerable to RPGs and ATGMs as well as APFSDS rounds, but regardless, it's still quite a good tank and a step above the T-72S, landing this tank on the 9th position.

8. Leopard 2A4
Yet another widely used tank, the Leopard 2A4 is the ultimate variant of early serial production Leopard 2s, it's in this position because the tank is simply OK, it had all the modern bells and whistles, such as digitalized with thermal sights for both the the gunner and commander, Rheinmetall 120mm L/44 smoothbore able to firing capable munitions such as DM33 APFSDS, and spaced multilayer armor, it's mobility is great too, however, the tank is simply OK, it's good but not as capable as newer tanks, it doesn't have any BMS (Battle Management System) present, no Laser Warning Receivers (LWR), and the gun cannot fire longer projectiles such as DM53, but overall this tank's pretty good for what it is.

7. Merkava Mk. 4M
The Merkava is one of the best when it comes to crew survivalability, not only does it have modular composite armor on the front and sides of the tank, belly armor to protect against mines, the engine is situated at the front, why?, well this engine acts as an ad hoc armor piece, protecting the crew behind it from a frontal attack, backing up all those protection measures is the Trophy APS, capable of intercepting RPGs and ATGMs fired at the tank, the tank is also fitted with an LWR, BMS, and even RWR (Radar Warning Receiver), which is typically used on aircraft, the tank itself was even configured to have a smaller radar cross section, making it harder for radar guided weapons to track it, the Merkava is armed with a 120mm MG253, which is similar to the Rheinmetall L/44 used in the Leo 2A4, with the difference being the ability to fire LAHAT ATGMs from the gun, this cannon is aimed by a digital FCS, with thermals for both gunner and commander, however the emphasis on crew protection also kinda became the tank's Achilles heel, as the crew is likely survive, but the tank is not, and with the engine being at the front the thermal signature would be stronger on the frontal area, making it easier to spot with the thermal imager, the armor itself may also withstand hits from ATGMs and RPGs, but not against APFSDS, also, the Merkava is only specialized for Israeli terrains, as well as the terrains of other countries near Israel, meaning that this tank may not perform well in say jungle or hilly terrain, giving this tank a place on the 7th.

6. T-90M
The T-90 was the best Russian tank up until the introduction of the Armata, and the M version is the best variant of it, it is armed with the new 2A46M-5 125mm gun with access to all latest munitions, including high energy APFSDS such as Svinets-1 and even gun launched ATGM, the 9M119M "Refleks", the gun is also auto-loaded, meaning faster RPM (Rounds Per Minute) and consistency in loading times, the protection of the vehicle is thoroughly improved, with its new Relikt ERA that heavily changed the shape of the turret, although the Shtora-1 countermeasure system is removed (it's that "Red Eyes" of the T-90A), the tank can still be fitted with the Arena hard kill Active Protection System (APS), FCS wise both commander and gunner had thermal sights which allows for accurate firing to a range of 5,000–8,000m, however the tank still kept the carousel type autoloader which can cause a catastrophic explosion if hit, the gun is also at it's limit when it comes to ammunition thus longer projectiles are not compatible, the turret space is also somewhat cramped, at least compared to other tanks, but overall, it's a well protected tank packing a good firepower, it's also probably the lightest out of all of these, giving this tank the 6th position.

5. K2 Black Panther
The K2 is a 4th gen MBT developed by South Korea, it's on the 5th position due to it's sophisticated systems integrated into the tank, it's FCS was linked to a high frequency radar as well as traditional laser rangefinder and crosswind sensor, this abled the tank to "lock on" to targets up to 9.8km, calculate the trajectory of the projectile, and fire at the target with pinpoint accuracy, this system also made the tank capable of targeting helicopters or even low flying aircraft, the FCS is complemented by a two-plane gun stabilizer and trigger-delay mechanism, which delayed the firing of the gun if the muzzle reference sensor is misaligned, improving the chances of hitting the target, the tank is also fitted with data-link, integrated GPS, and IFF (Identification Friend-or-Foe) system, which strongly improved it's ability to communicate and coordinate with friendly forces, the tank is armed with a 120mm 55 calibre cannon, able to fire the K279 APFSDS with 700mm penetration at 60° @ 2km, there's also a smart anti-tank munition, which kinda works like a mortar mixed with an RPG, as it's fired at a high arch trajectory, detect targets using on board sensors, and fire a projectile of it's own, protection wise the tank had composite armor with ERA and NERA elements, able to withstand hits from the Rheinmetall 120mm L/55 gun, it'll also be equipped with hard-kill and soft-kill APS, however, all these advanced systems and capability comes at a cost, and I mean that literally, this tank is the most expensive main battle tank in the world, with a price tag of $8.5 million dollars, for comparison the Abrams costed only $6.2 million dollars, and it's also a little bit overkill for what it's going against, that being some upgraded T-62s and that Abrams + Armata amalgamation the North Koreans have, but overall, still a very good tank despite it's cost, landing this tank the 5th position.

4. M1A2 SEP v3
This version of the infamous M1 Abrams tank is the most advanced variant in service, with newer generation of armor, increasing protection against ballistic threats and IED, mountings for ERA for TUSK modification, and the Trophy APS as on the Merkava on the sides of the turret, it also had new Vehicle Health Management System (VHMS) to keep track of the vehicle's well-being, new BMS and communication systems, Ammunition DataLink (ADL) for airburst rounds, and an APU for running the tank's systems when the engine is turned off, the commander has access to the CROWS remote weapon station (RWS) that houses an M2 machine gun as well as thermals and night vision for target observation, the gunner also had a thermal sight, the gun is a 120mm M256A1 cannon with the newest M829A4 APFSDS available for it, with a capable FCS system to boot, it had an effective range of >2000m, it's in the 4th position as it is the best in terms of protection, with composite armor aray consisting of NERA elements and depleted uranium inserts, making it impervious to most widely used kinetic projectiles, with an estimated 1125mm thickness at the absolute minimum, coupled with that the APS installed that can intercept RPGs and ATGMs, making it basically invulnerable to such weapons, it's also relatively mobile using its gas turbine engine, however, with all of these protections, systems, and firepower on board the tank is enormously heavy, sitting at just below 69 tons (nice), making it the heaviest tank currently in operational service, the tank is also still using Gen 1 thermals, other tanks were already using Gen 2 or even Gen 3.

3. Leopard 2A7+
The Leopard 2A7+ is the best performing tank all-round, balancing mobility, firepower, and armor, with little tradeoffs with one another, the tank is armed with the newest 120mm L/55 cannon with the latest DM63 APFSDS and programmable HE munition, linked to the EMES 15 FCS enabling the tank to engage moving targets at ranges of up to 5,000 meters whilst itself being on the move over rough terrain, the commander has access to an RWS as well, the protection is improved further by the installation of modular composite armor that protected the tank 360°, and on top of that the Trophy APS is also mounted, the tank is also protected against IEDs and mines with its underbelly armor, the ammunition of the tank also had a very low chance of detonating when hit by shrapnel, meaning very little chance of an ammo cookoffs or ammo rack explosion, plus the ammo is mostly stored in a separate compartment on the back of the turret, this compartment can withstand the explosion of the ammo inside and had blow-out panels above the turret to direct the explosion away from the crew, the tank also had an automatic fire suppression system, mobility wise the tank is powered by a MTU MB 873 Ka-501 liquid-cooled V12 twin-turbo diesel engine giving 1,500hp, giving the tank a great agility and a max speed of 70km/h both forward and backwards, however there are still some drawbacks present, albeit not all that significant, basically with this balance it can't have the best of each elements, for example for it to have good protection and mobility the firepower is sacrificed a little bit, as the munitions for it doesn't really match up with the bestest out there, same thing goes with it's mobility and protection, but in general the tank had everything perfectly balanced, firepower, mobility, and protection, and with all those the tank lands the third position.

2. T-14 Armata
Arguably the most revolutionary tank of the 21st century, the Armata already had everything, good fire control, powerful 2A82 125mm cannon with an autoloader, good protection with Malachit ERA and Afghanit APS, situational awareness improvements with cameras and sensors all around the tank, and good mobility with a ChTZ 12N360 (A-85-3A) diesel engine delivering 1,500hp, giving the tank a top speed of 80-90km/h on both forward and reverse, however this tank brought something new to the table of tank developments, a completely unmanned turret, something never before seen in a production tank, with the crew situated in an armored capsule in front of the tank, estimated to be >800mm thick even without the Malachit ERA, and because of the unmanned turret the muzzle energy can be much higher without complications from a crewed turret, this also comes with the benefit of more powerful projectiles, such as the Vacuum-1 APFSDS with a massive penetration of 1000mm at 60° @ 2km, it's also armed with the improved 9M119M1 "Invar-M" ATGM, airburst HE rounds, among others. The Afghanit APS is said to be able to intercept various RPGs, ATGMs, and even depleted uranium APFSDS rounds, the APS' AESA radar is said to have a coverage of 360° + vertically, so even top-attack munition might get intercepted, the tank also features stealth characteristics and electronic warfare capability, probably the only problem with the tank is the unmanned turret itself, as of it's damaged in some way there's no way for the crew to fix it from the inside, and since the visibility from the crew capsule is very poor, the crew relied on cameras for situational awareness, meaning of the cams fail, the crew would be basically blind, and also if the turret fails, well let's just say you'd have an over-engineered APC, but since this was a new concept and will bring future tanks down a new path, and as the tank is very capable itself, this tank gains the 2nd place.

1. Object 195
Now, you might never even heard of this tank before, and well that's kinda to be expected, this tank is sort of an "older brother" to the T-14 Armata, it was a development for a new tank in early 2000s, however it was literally deemed too advanced to be produced as the tech included within the tank were way too ahead of it's time, and this conundrum eventually led to the T-14, which had more realistic and achievable standards, so this tank if it were produced had the potential to be even better than the T-14, even the base armament itself is better than the T-14, with a 152mm 2A83 cannon and an entire 30mm 2A42 autocannon as secondary armament, it even had APS as well, however there's basically no info on this tank as it's all still classified, and only 2 prototypes or so were ever made, and the reasons it was on the 1st position was because of the 152mm gun and 30mm gun, and basically the tank would outperform the T-14 if ever produced, and thus this tank gained the prestigious 1st place.

Also a disclaimer, this is my own personal rankings and in no way is an accurate real world ranking of the MBTs, if you have a different ranking and disagree with this feel free to express it.

Honorable mentions : Challenger 2 in place of T-90M, Type 99A in place of either the Merkava or Leo 2A4, Char Leclerc in place of the K2, C1 Ariete in place of Leo 2A4 or Type 96, and the Type 10 in place of the Leo 2A4, BM Oplot in place of either Merkava or T-90M.