[thejeff]

There are some smaller maps out there.
I basically agree with you as far as SP goes. I do like playing with thugs & mages but the AI has a lot of trouble countering, so once you get to a certain point there's no challenge, just lots of tedious mopping up.
So stop there. If you want more closure on your games, play with victory conditions.

Harder research and lower gem settings both push the game more towards armies and away from magic & SCs, so that might be an option for you.