Have you ever seen the AI doing a strategic retreat against impossible odds in battle (or even on the campaign map)?
On M/M, they do this sometimes rather often. I am about 50% of the time wondering how I'm going to survive, and 50% of the time at peace, ready to declare war and building up my armies. The strategic AI does a better job than me, in a way. They blockade ports, have better ships, hog trade routes, etc. while I'm still trying to piece together my initial army. I am disappointed that almost nobody ever feels like trading tech, even if you're trading several high-end things in return for just one plain, bottom thing. It's kind of stupid actually. The AI is most definetely flawed in some ways, but keep in mind this is much better than moving one siege to the next in M2. I have a challenge, and it satisfies me and my strategies