[baruk]

Personally I don't find sages much of an issue. I tend to take magic scale +1 to +3, and I usually find superior independent mages to build, such as jade sorceresses, loremasters, wizards or enchantresses, as I'm more interested in magical utility than pure research. I haven't played a hard research game yet, though.

Independent mages are another random element that has a large effect on the outcome of a game, so I can see why people might want to limit their effect in some way, though I would prefer to see this as an option in the game setup.

Perhaps this new game setting could consist of a sliding scale which would affect the cost of all independent commanders and/or troops. So that you could perhaps double the cost of all independent units, for instance, if you wanted a more nation-dependent game. Independent mages would be a less obvious build choice under these circumstances, perhaps making utility magical pretenders more attractive.