[Tuidjy]

I am damn sure I do not want to play a game in which 250 golds worth of province
defence rout 500 golds worth of troops or mages.

It is beyond me why anyone would ask for province defence that is relevant after
turn 20 or so. Without utterly changing the game balance or improving the
tactical AI beyond belief, no amount of unscripted national troops and mages
will be more than a speed bump to well designed turn 40 thug, let alone SC.
In my current game, I teleported, more or less accidentally, my pretender on
top of what I think was one of another player's three main armies, complete
with prophet and life drain/raise dead sauromancer. Five of his two hundred
units escaped. Are you suggesting that one should be able to buy PD that would
have made a difference?

I repeat, my pretender was scripted for dealing with AI resistance, and I am
sure that the army was as well (the original province owner went AI)

I have said it dozens of times before. Play the game you have - tunning it is
one thing, but trying to transform it into a different game is silly. Dominions
is a game of godlike beings, world-altering enchantments and powerful wizards.
If you want to lead legions of infantry, cavalry, and archers, there are plenty
of other games out there. There are even games for those who like a smattering
of magic - I recommend the mods for Shadow of the Horned Rat/Dark Omen. Of
course, I do not know whether anyone outside of Eastern Europe still plays these.