[Aezeal]

if all mages except cadre mages are cap only I doubt most will see much use.

I agree though that ascendants answering too Laseen is not that realistic

Setting loose the Houds of Darkness or Shadow on a distant province to wreak havoc (for independants, not to gain the province) might be nice.. though probably not used a lot unless they where really capable of keeping the province for a while (which they should be able too)

I think you can get magic user without a lab if they only have randoms (as for example... my version of the cadre mages) havént'actaully tried it yet though.

Oponn doesn't really do anything in the books.. except well.. change luck.. I can only imagine them as the one a huge beacon of luck, maybe creating a pearl/round and high astral magic. The other a (high) steal character that gives misfortune to enemy provinces. THey shouldn't really fight though. The one with a battlefield spell that gives luck to all your troops, the other which curses the enemy or something.
--> regardless of this mod this would be nice summons though maybe propose them in the end game summons thread

BTW endo I can really advice reading the books.. one of the best fantasy series around.. the next book is on the top of my list together with the new Fire and Ice book.