You know, these are the reasons why I'd like to see them as a mathematician. But would it really help the gameplay and tactics of various players? I don't see how.
Maybe I'm subtley trying to force the general player to learn a bit about how combat works. I mean, it wouldn't bother me if the tool was a bit educational rather than strictly useful to only tactics. Maybe I just want to make some brains out there start hurtin.
Also, regarding number of hits... with units that can get more first strikes this could be useful anyway. If a defender is heavily damaged (let's say less than 50HP), seeing that it will take 3 hits to kil will give you some encouragement to take that D2 or D3 promotion.
By the way, I can appreciate that having dived into the details of combat and the various statistics involved, I've lost a little bit of the original point of how to use the numbers in gameplay. I said a few posts ago, when I choose the high detail setting at the moment and go try a number of combats, I'm a little overwhelmed, and I have to force myself to look at the right numbers. But I think part of the problem is I've sent so many units into combat with the standard calculator that I've gotten so used to it, I can't quickly comprehend other detail when it is given to me. Having said that, I wouldn't mind betting that if this tool becomes part of the standard mod I play (maybe BUG) then I will eventually not want to go back. Personally I consider the XP values to be the single most useful thing added so far. I'm already to the point where I hate using the odds display without XP in it. Knowing the XP you will gain before combat can be a great advantage if used with some imagination.