Search Man is fine as is. He falls into the typical homing class niche in that he's extremely powerful on open maps, but struggles in close quarters. His biggest draw is that you have to actually accumulate a lock on a target, and if said target ventures out of your sight, it's for naught, since Homing Sniper will target enemies through walls and subsequently be destroyed immediately. Couple that with lackluster mobility, weaker armor, and a kit that encourages literally setting up camp, the problem either lies with the map itself, or the player's inability to outplay him.
You cannot possibly be serious. I'd like you to play a few rounds of Searchman and tell me all that with a straight face.
Searchman is a pain at long range, yes, but he's even worse to play against at medium and short ranges. Melee is the only place where he struggles.
His mainfire lock-on mechanism is
extremely easy to use (even easier at medium/close range) and gives his shots insane homing ability to the point where they cannot be outrun or outlasted -- you must be behind a wall when he fires it. If you happen to be behind a wall, Search can simply fire regular mainfire shots with no lock-on to deal with you, as they home like a standard Magnet Missile.
If that wasn't enough, Search also possesses the ability to fill a room with bouncing discs that do a RIDICULOUS 24 damage each with no ammo cost (much like his entire fucking kit). Have fun dealing with him while trying to dodge discs and unavoidable homing at the same time.
His bushes, while the least damning part of his kit, only add the the heap of broken shit Search has. They make him harder to find, harder to hit, recharge fast, and have no ammo cost.
And "the problem lies within the player's inability to outplay him"? You want me to "outplay" something that will hit me 100% of the time? Don't make me fucking laugh.