Ideas and suggestions.

1. Regarding the archers. It's actually strange that by default, they can't choose whether to shoot or attack in melee.

Well, maybe it was strange for earlier versions, but not so much for the current one. If we introduce such a feature, we'll have to nerf the pirates, especially the corsairs, who will be able to destroy everything without any problems. Currently, playing as them requires solving interesting tactical puzzles based on the 4-shot limit. For example, you can either shoot or save arrows for melee combat, but at the cost of 2 turns and some risk. We could, of course, give them a bonus, but take away one shot in return... But that's not a perfect solution either. In general, let's see how we decide.