I've never played Ulm before - this seems like a good a chance as I will ever get!!  Tho an improved TC is kind of tempting too...  but not.  Ulm!  Ulm for me.
Oh and by the way:  If you are looking for house rules which limit magic use and result in a more unit-centric game, check out those from my  
Age of Men Game 
AoM House Rules: 
1) Only human pretenders.
2) Only 
recruitable commanders can be used as SCs.
3) Only 1 mage per 25 troops allowed in combat
NOW - before you all get on my case - I am NOT proposing these as rules for this game.  I just wanted to point them out and see if it could serve as a starting point for some discussions...