Which Might and Magic universe are you referring to?

I'm waiting for a full-fledged crossover with the original universe (perhaps as a secondary plot element). Because these "references" are just ridiculous – they simply copy names and titles without any meaningful integration into the plot (like with Atlas and Calindra).

I don't care about Railag and the dark elves; I've never liked this race, it's a pale imitation of the original dark elves from the old series. But I'm more interested in the mages and necromancers. For example, how will they explain Belket's "centuries-long lifespan"? And will Sandro appear (I would really like him to be there, that would be great).

Some people actually like Ashan. Like me, for example. Of course, I personally don't like the deification of dragons. Personally, I like absolutely everything about Ashan except for that. In Heroes 6 itself, I also like absolutely everything except for tying the entire game to the Conflux. For example, separating the Conflux from the campaign and single-player/hotseat mode. Not having any Dynasty Swords there (they can be left in the campaign). And what really annoys me is the new system for creating single-player/hotseat games. In Heroes 5, it was better (and in all the others too): you choose a faction -> you choose one of many heroes and you're off. But now: you create your own hero -> in the game creation, you choose him and you're off. And without the Conflux, the offline mode is just terrible: you choose a map -> you choose one of 10 static heroes (2 for each faction: mage, warrior).
As for the references without a plot, the developers are just too lazy to come up with new heroes, so they just take old ones and repaint them for the sixth installment. It's more convenient for them.