Running TA-3C

1) The AI seems to be grossly misjudging the number of troops needed to take a planet. I would have planets defenseless and at their mercy, only to fight off wave after wave of tiny invasions. The Iconians were notorious for this, usually mustering assault forces with double-digit numbers-- and, on one notable occasion, a grand total invasion force of FOUR guys. This gave a colossal advantage to the Korath, because spore-ships did not suffer from this difficulty. Is anyone else experiencing this?

2) I eventually eked out a tech victory, or rather, I researched it-- but the win did not trigger. This may have something to do with a message mid-game that The Pirates had ascended to a higher plane of being. Bear in mind that the pirates didn't actually EXIST in this game, near as I could tell.