Even though I find e1.6.0 a successful patch and clearly see they changed the approach in a good way... I will mostly agree with the above statements, but... mechanics and AI just should not work stupid or that stupid.
It just looks very stupid (temporary lack of synonyms) watching archers turning their backs to the enemy when moving back or being distracted by one cavalryman. For the sake of realism, I can see 1-2 units being dragged away but not the whole formation. So I'm also hoping they will not spoil it accidentally and do what you suggest as a side effect.
P.S. They actually did it with the order's ban when enemy forces are retreating. I cannot see any reason for this. Distance? You still can order units from the extreme edges of the map, but not after the enemy is running away. Leave it up to players whether they want to slaughter those voxels or not.
P.S.2. I miss those kick-ass Khuzaits who steamrolled the map with their speed bonus. That was a challenge - to stop them. In principle those little faction inequalities are ok. The same way I find Battania 'realistic' without having archer units as base recruitable... instead we get highly trained and relatively hard to obtain juggernaut of some sort - Fian. That in numbers can grind far larger armies. But you have to learn how to play them...