Lord Thane I know that they have mysteries, but why keep it that way?
Why not say "Wolf masters increase the attack of 3 wolf riding units by 15% for every 1 Wolf Master" if that's the case? This way people can actually make strategic decisions around these really cool mechanics in the game. Sure some people will try to min max it and do the calculations, but those people should be rewarded for putting in the hard work. But most people won't go that far. Though knowing what it does will make players feel better about it.
I get that there's nostalgia with the things like "wagging war" or "caragous" and that Gen. probably didn't go in depth with all of the mechanics because it was too much work at the time with too many other things to do. It's like you said, Pony Riders were probably just a place holder since every race had to have a riding unit for fairness. That's why I personally feel like it's not a priority for you guy to fix, but I'm just hoping that it's on the list.
You've put some wonderful changes into the game so far, this wouldn't even be a change, just a way to make it better and more helpful for players, old and new
Your guys' work is appreciated, thank you
