The trouble I have with maces is that the tier-1 and tier-2 ones (the bludgeon and morning star) both look a lot cooler than the tier-3 winged mace. Additionally, the tier-2 star looks like it actually ought to do more damage than its more “advanced” counterpart. So I amass the cheap and abundant bludgeons at the start of the game, but then, as more mercs advance in melee skill and become eligible for weapon masteries, I think “well, I want them to do more damage, but winged maces are so expensive and so rare as loot, whereas we’ve already looted a whole arsenal of spiked flails that look even cooler than morning stars, so maybe I should forget maces and make them master flails, or maybe I should just make them master swords and switch them to two-handers once they’ve got enough armour and/or melee defence …”
But if there was a tier-3 mace that looked even cooler than the morning star (maybe a vicious spiked version of the bludgeon) then I’d stake everything to get them in my arsenal …