The budget of the AI could be tied to the overall income and number of planets
- The more income it has the less the less it should save on the account
- The more planet it has the more it should save on the account
This is so that there is always enough coins available to buy out planetary improvements (and ships) and keep the infrastructure buildup flowing
With mercs: it only really makes sense to by them if the AI is in war due to their high upkeep (overall cost is high and not worth over long period of time). If the AI is running out of coin to maintain existing ships, the most expansive merc ship should be the first to be scrapped due to the above: one merc command cruiser can pay for the upkeep of several faction specific cruisers so no question wthich should stay
Scappring on the other hand should only occur when low on budget so that no important opportunities are lost in battle. S othe rule could be:
1. Buy IF in war AND Budget allows for it
2. Disband IF not in war OR Budget is low
What abouth harmonisation? As they cannot rebell, they can be harmonized withouth penalties (except for the loss of resource yields)
Slavery is a tough nut to crack: can the AI be told to post some Raiders on each planet per default the exact amount of which being dependant on the planet size? Thus they would build 4 Raiders on a medium sized planet and get slaving
The pre-condition in this case would be the succesfull "buildup" aka: availabilty of Raiders on a spcific planet: if it has reached the level designated for that planet size, all enslavable pops can be enslaved.
Since the AI will not be transporting Raiders anywhere, this mechanic woul take care of potential rebellions on the long term
It could also account for loss of Raider units during bombardments as the AI would recognise that their amount has dropped below target value and produce new ones