Should improving Arcoscephale Golden Era be a priority?

[Blitz]

Another point about the Golden Era research advantage... since the philosophers are capitol-only, and the seithkona is a superior researcher to the mystic, once a second fort (or sage site) is producing researchers, the arcoscephale research bonus is for the most part eliminated.

On a more general note, I personally think that not every theme should be equally balanced. Sometimes people want a more challenging game, or particularly good players might want to level the playing-field somewhat when playing with friends.

I'd have to disagree. Idealy the game should have perfect balance. It's never going to happen, in any game... but there are few advantages to having dominant themes and pretenders, as imbalances hurt diversity.