I really like them. As others have mentioned, for me they have that SYW feel.
I completely disagree with the activation system criticisms above. Yes, sometimes your command will not act as you would like them to do so. That happens in battles.
Now, personally, I do not like games that allow players to control their troops with chess like precision and perfection. A CinC must deal with the slings and arrows of misfortune, to coin a phrase. To me, that's part of the fun of playing miniatures wargames.
The activation system is also somewhat under your control. Your CinC modifies the command roll by one, so if a particular wing is critical, then make sure your commanding General is keeping a close eye on that command.
Our group deploy our commands firstly, and then rolls for the subcommander's qualities. And sometimes, yes, a blithering idiot (no doubt the King's cousin) has been given command of your battle plan's schwerpunkt. All part of the fun. Deal with it. Rethink your plan. Make the hammer into the anvil. Perhaps you're fielding the Reichsarmee, in which case embrace the mediocrity! Now and again, a poor commander decides to withdraw, or a sometimes a rash genius sees a fleeting opening and gets a double move.
That said, I respect others' opinions. To me, the command system is a much saner and toned down version of Black's Powder's command and control. BP is too fast moving and wild for my sense of the linear period of warfare. But others quite enjoy BP for the SYW.
We did find however, that light troops seem much too powerful and effective, so we tend to downgrade them in quality and make them smaller units.
Just for the record, our preferred ruleset for the SYW is "Maurice", but we find "Honours of War" a nice light weight charming alternative. The nice thing about the Osprey rules is that they are quite cheap, so well worth buying and trying them out.
