I'm not arguing for a phantom, I'm arguing for easier top difficulty levels, that do not need reverse-engineering.
I'd find this easier to believe if you could explain "reverse-engineering" as anything more than "the things I don't like".
Well, if it allows you to build more dominant units with a slight tech advance, I would understand you, as your style of play is teching > attack.
No, it's not.
It's that tech done well beats attack. Culture done well beats attack. Economy done well beats attack.
This does not mean that attack done well can't beat culture, tech, or whatever.
It means that military strength should not automatically win; it means that different styles should be well balanced so that to win by any play style is possible but is never inevitable, and the difference there is being bothered to actually play the game well. Which means understanding how it works.