Ah I thought you meant they weren't in the battles at all anymore, my bad Polemists.

Hopefully they will do it like NTW2 did it. Super tiny bodyguard *like 10 men* but their ralley ability and the fact they gave them the eagle thing *boosts all nearby unit's morale and lowers enemy's iirc* made them very important in making sure your units didn't rout in combat. If he died, it became rather easy to route the enemy by sheer musket fire.