The leaders must be removed completely because it makes no sense to have Gandhi for millennia in times of peace and war the leaders must be replaced by ideology
This is a wild take. Realism isn't something Civilization should aim for, as Civilization never aimed to be realistic. It is a whole "what if" where you roleplay more around a theme than around a Civilization. It is a non-sense to play as the American in 4000 BC, yet the whole franchise is around building an empire by playing a theme. Sure Gandhi is long overdue and should no longer lead an Indian civilization ever again, but Gandhi was introduced in the franchise as a way to play as a pacific civilization, not as the Indian civilization.
I was working on the list I created, and I am more and more seduced by Hojo Tokimune "Zen" Persona, as suggested by
@Alexander's Hetaroi. He will replace Tomyris. Sadly, Gandhi "Ambulance Corps" stays. Sure, the Ambulance Corps part can be changed, but Gandhi have to stay if I continue to follow my own rules (well, I could give a full explanation of my thought process...). Plus: the best way to never see Gandhi is to overuse him now.
By removing Tomyris, I am short of a female leaders to stay true to the 1:2 female/male ratio. I really wanted to add a female leaders to America, but I am struggling a lot. The two person I am thinking are Abigail Adams and Eleanor Roosevelt. I like both, since they were involved in politics and quite far away from both Lincoln (#16) and Teddy Roosevelt (#26), as Abigail Adams was both married to John Adams (#2) and mother of John Quincy Adams (#6) while Eleanor Roosevelt was married to Franklin D. Roosevelt (#32) and had a huge diplomatic influence. But which one would fit better?
I am working on what abilities they would have. Alexander's Hetaroi talked about editing the current Hojo's ability, just as Teddy Roosevelt has its ability split between his Bull Moose and Rough Rider Personas. I like that idea a lot, since I could do the same if I introduce a Persona for Peter the Great and Mvemba A Nzinga. It is a shame that Peter's ability "The Grand Embassy" wasn't updated with the Diplomatic Quarter, while Mvemba A Nzinga could have its obsolete vanilla ability reworked to be able to build Holy Site even if he cannot pursue a Religious Victory.
For France, maybe I am stubborn, but I want an overrated or highly requested leader. Even if I like Philip Augustus, Henri IV and Louis XIV, they are too close to Eleanor (contemporary), Catherine de Medici (contemporary) and the Magnificent (same spirit). If Napoléon is out of the picture, which one do you think? I am thinking about Charles de Gaulle. It could be a military leader, with a unique Tank for example but it is unlikely they will create new units. He could also be a Science leader, since he pushed France to acquire its Nuclear Arsenal and its own Space Program. The lame way to do it would be some %Production to projects, and maybe some Science on kill (military experience for progress) for some early game use.