Most advanced tank in 1945

[jf42]

Is it possible to identify the most advanced, effective battle tank at the end of WII? I am thinking in terms of designs leading to post-war AFV development.

What did the sophisticated (and possibly over rated) German 'big cat' tanks  contribute to future tank design? Were they ultimately evolutionary dead ends?

At the opposite end of the scale, the celebrated T-34 design was suited to Soviet wartime requirements; cheap, tough and mobile, but crude and really effective only en masse. Its Christie-inspired chassis was the basis of  the T54/55, T62 etc  which were also crude but effective, etc, but it is  perhaps debatable to what extent these were descendants of the T34 in other aspects.

With the Centurion, the British finally created the 'universal'  tank they had been looking for,  with its combination of firepower, armour and reliable engine, although it came into use too late for WW2. The Centurion did 20 years service with UK forces- ( subsequently seeing combat  against the T54/55 in the Middle East) and led to the Chieftain and Challenger.

What about US tank designs in 1945: unglamorous work-horses but perhaps more graduated stepping stones to the future?