Regarding point 3. “Let your smith fight” I think I’d rather have this be optional. I assume the game is balanced around fielding 12 fighters. I don’t want one of those slots permanently taken by a half-assed fighter who’s also a great blacksmith.
Last I heard, the idea is to expand your roster (to 24?) once there’s a deeper wounds system in place, while limiting your field deployment to 12. In that case, there might be more wiggle room. Whether that still stands or not depends on the success of the EA, I guess.
And ‘progression’. That was the word I was looking for, couldn’t think of it for the longest time. Never get old.