That's the first time I've ever heard anyone complain about the battles being too slow.
Anyway, correct me if I'm wrong here, but it sounds as though you neither patched the game nor bothered to try and make it past the Prologue (at least that's what the 'annoying advisors' bit seems to suggest. At any rate, after turning off the advisors I've never had trouble with all the things you mention. Sorry to hear that yours was not such a pleasant experience.