This is precisely why the concept of an "overall game concept" is needed; it allows you to provide some argumentative basis or philosophy for certain changes. So that the arguments don't turn into "I like it/don't like it," but have some objective component.

I hope I'm expressing my thoughts in this way, and that we understand each other? ;-)

For example, as I see it, in your mind, the thoughts "sometimes you start with 10 gnolls, that's fate" and "I'm annoyed by the lack of control in the late game" coexist without contradicting each other.

They coexist because I have the ability to influence the "imbalance of 10 gnolls" (since you gave such an example)! I can simply restart! I can choose a hero at the start to somehow mitigate this; I can carefully examine the layout, assess the guards at the passages, look at the next 2-3-4 heroes (maybe there are 3 stacks, magic, a ballista), assess the overall situation, and perhaps "10 gnolls" will be enough for me in the long run! I decide for myself, evaluating the starting spawn, the presence of some minimum for the game, and I can influence this!

But I cannot influence the presence or absence of control in the very first utopia/guild/scroll, and I can't restart! This is simply a pure factor of luck, a fundamental and important factor on large maps, which is what is being proposed to smooth out!