To be clear, I don't think this would make ZOE as good as charge, but I think it would but it on par with the other ES abilities. Thermals fit with the idea of making ZOE the "agro mode" ability. They're also more useful for finding distant targets, which fits with VS's long-range MAX philosophy. Since it's not a change to mobility or damage, there's really no potential for this to be crazy overpowered, but it should make ZOE more efficient in its intended role, and at the very least people may like using it for convenience when doing AV work or supporting fire from a safe distance.
ZOE just needs to not take a ridiculous armor penalty, or deal more damage at longer ranges again. In all honesty, the fact that it actually has a timer now pretty much nerfed it as much as it needed nerfing. Everything else was overkill.