I think one of main reasons why there is quite a disconnection with own soldiers is the fact, player is not choosing which character is what class with each soldier… Player gets certain troop types, which are practically carbon copy of each other, besides three custom abilities…
I think it would be better if Player could recruit troops, and only then chose what class they should specialize on, based on what player thinks they should be good at.
At the same time, i think it would be beneficial, if base stats of these recruits was a bit more variable, instead of starting at same values. so certain soldiers would have more speed, or will or strength than usual.