Ryttare: Say civilian is not say sim city stuff. If you want battles, play the tactical part of the game and be a centurion not the emperor.
What makes the totalwar series different to other strategy titles is the mix of tactic and strategy.
Strategy involves politics, economy and social issues.
You say civilian is sim city? then you can renounce to collect taxes because money is tycoon series. Or choose not to build any upgrade cos that smell like AoE stuff. Or suppress the diplomacy, that's Europa Universalis.
I think TW series stands up because of tactical battles, its historic accuracy, and the deep level of strategy. My suggestions were for the strategic part of the game, but don't worry I have read that will be governors for the administrative tasks.