There does need to be much more in the way of competitive CGs, I agree. Certainly it needs to be further than the difference of multicannon or missile launcher as a reward.Battles? Battles include goals for at least 2 parties.
CG and II design has not only been onesided so far,
they also exclude many ways to play the game and prosper from it.
Thinking about the Nova Imperium storyline a while back, here was potentially a chance to make a significant change to the Empire. It would be good to see something like that offered again.