As far as the AI having information on the whereabouts of your Commanders: have you ever heard of Astral Window? The AI has and seems to like it. You can actually see which provinces have Astral Windows in them (besides your own) if you cast Eyes of God.
So I could, say, transfer some blood slaves to a commander, have the commander retreat from a fight (but have another commander win it), reap a few blood slaves as personal units, Gift of Reason one, and Empower it with blood magic?
I love Gift of Reason. I particularly like my old blind crippled Machaka Archer Prophet... It's just somehow right.
I'd love to be able to capture enemy blood slaves and gems like magic items.
And how cool would it be to take one of those 'liberated' blood slaves, give her Gift of Reason and some weaponry, maybe a year or so in the Military Academy with a Champions Skull on her nightstand...
I wish to report a bug. When you make a blood slave into a blood mage, send her into combat, and order her to sacrifice herself for a spell, the game crashes.