They're just pretty to look at. I hope they stay that way; 4X games that have separate games built into them for combat are always annoying, especially in multiplayer.

If you don't enjoy looking at them, that's a shame, but I don't think it's a flaw with the game. Though I will agree that the direction they took with ground battles is rather odd.

For the moment there's no reason to watch a battle. Whether that changes remains to be seen.