SE4 doesn't have much micromanagement. Really! Well, yes it does, though you can elect to play a slightly less optimal game and save yourself a lot of micromanagement.
Heavy use of retrofits or fighters are the kind of things that can result in micromanagement hell, but even then, most turns do take a while to play: one hour per turn was my average in the middle game, and two hours in harder situations, and some players have claimed to spend several hours per turn, without paying much attention to some details.
My other main complaint with the game is balance: there is really no widespread balancing mod, and the standard game is not exactly balanced; or rather, there are simply options that cannot be bypassed, and only one working Empire setup with a couple of variations. Don't even think of seeing something half as varied and half as balanced (relatively speaking) as Dominions 2; I'm afraid it won't be the case.
I believe the game does shine with certain mods, and in multiplayer if you like diplomacy and the like. I am personally quite fond of Proportions, where micromanagement goes down to manageable levels, and where all the good stuff is all of a sudden just a bit harder to reach. That would be the difference between playing Easy research and Magic 3 and Very Hard research and Drain 3: in the latter case, research choices actually matter. Proportions is fun, really.
Now PvK, feel free to send me that check for the free ad, will ya?