Re: Minor settlement battles in Warhammer II and III
It's interesting to see how people's preferences vary. I imagine that you preference is a popular one - of course, Warhammer II's minor settlement battles are open field battles (unless the settlement has walls) and I don't remember players criticising that.
I like a variety of battles, so I'd prefer to have some minor settlement battles as open field and others in the settlement (as in Rome II, where the defenders sometimes come out to fight in the open).
While I think the AI handles open field battles better, I've been enjoying settlement battles - the AI can provide a challenge in my experience, particularly when it has a better army.