I get what you're saying. And I disagree and agree.

In Europa you can increase your technologies which effect other stuff. do I need to explain Europa? Lets just pretend we all know what Paradox games are like...

In Europa you upgrade your troops because there is a moral penalty when you do so. This probably stops some kind of exploit where you upgrade your army in the middle of a battle. And that makes more sense in an abstract way where, how do your guys get all this new equipment in the middle of a battle? So it's a mechanic to maybe stop exploiting, and for immersion.

I really like upgrading my troops because I use my imagination to fill in the rest. This little "minutiae" help me get immersed. It does need some level of "minutiae" otherwise I'm not going to have a connection to my individual troops.

Don't be afraid of micro management. The important thing is it needs to be implemented well. It needs to be fun. There needs to be an outcome.

Again with Europa 4. There is nobility, burghers, and clergy. Sometimes I ignore it completely. Sometimes I micromange the hell out of it. I was playing Yemen and I was trying to make sure all the right provinces had the nobility or whatever. It didn't have to much of an impact because I was still getting use to it and wasn't maintaining my provinces but at times it was a lot of help. On the other hand I just started playing as... I can't remember... I formed the Dutch Nation the other night. Anyway I'm completely ignoring the three castes. They all plummit to 0, I lost my republic status, Just one guy ruling the country. Its great.

But ya its all about how well its implemented.