[JLV]

I'd say that's a pretty good summation of the different purposes for which a "Mass Combat" system can be used:

If you want to focus on the micro-level more than anything else, the abstraction of Type One is perfect -- En Garde! did it really well, I always thought. Similarly, the "Crisis" system in Down With the King abstracted a lot of this sort of thing (and also allowed the players to prolong the crisis for their own benefit -- which could backfire in a serious way if you allowed things to spin out of control too long).

If you want to know how the actual big battle went, Type Two would be the preferred choice (or, if you're just an unreconstructed wargamer, like yours truly is here -- my brother and I once fought a month or two of the entire Eastern Front, using War in the East as the macro level, and then fighting out the tactical engagements using PanzerBlitz, so clearly we were crazy!)

Type three is just so intellectually appealing that I'd really LIKE to see someone come up with that version, just so I could see how it worked. In many ways, it's the same inspiration as my using Trailblazer for the macro-econcomics of my world -- and believe me, things like that really DO make your world feel more alive. Sadly, I never owned or played Kingmaker, but it sounds like it would be just about perfect for this sort of thing.