Semi-fancy tactics in Strategic Combat?

[Hunpecked]

OK, thanks for the advice. I'll keep playing with the settings as the occasion arises.

Strangely enough, I found a partial answer to question #3 above, just when I had given up and decided to play on. Going after the colony with all the Sats, I directed the "Seek After" order AT THE SATS instead of the planet, with "Capture Planet" as fleet strategy. This time the fleet concentrated on the Sats, with individual ships dancing in and out of PDC range. True, they got in each other's way quite a bit, but they gradually nibbled away at the Sats while shooting down missiles by the dozen. Meanwhile one LC silenced the planet's weapons platforms with a single missile salvo. Net result was 69 Sats and two WPs killed for no losses, and one AI planet captured with all 4 facilities intact. I couldn't have done better myself.

I realize this was probably a fluke and isn't necessarily repeatable under different circumstances, but at least it gives me a shot at a favorable outcome in future invasions.