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After some initial play-testing with mercs, we have a few other ideas for mercs as well.
1. The GM controlled fund mentioned above was where we initially thought to go to, but that became even more book-keeping. We went with a simpler answer; self repair at a speed a bit slower than planetary garrisons (we went an arbitrary choice of 5% repaired every 2 turns, rather than 1 like a garrison). However, units that are completely destroyed (a mech battalion, infantry or whatever) don't get repaired.
Actually, I think you will find that, given a -1 or -2 to the retention TN DR, the Houses will willingly pay for repairs and thus remove the need for GM book keeping (if you have a GM). Those mods to the TN have seen the come back of merc commands and reduced the GM workload to a minimum (almost eliminated it in fact).
...2. Giving mercs a small bonus on raiding missions of some type. It was a suggestion, but haven't tried mechanically as of yet. Were thinking either a bonus to the raid results table or instead, if combat occurs, a small bonus in acs for merc stats when on raids only....
Hmmm,... I'll admit I do not see the rationale. Mercs commands in ACS/ISaW (generally) tend to be used in place of house units due to the cost (Combat supply = 4x basic supply). A regular command that launches a raid will pay ~40+ RP the following turn due to the "must pay..." rule (provided you have not run out of cash entirely, in which case you have bigger problem than funding raids). A merc command will pay only 22 RP (5.5 x 4).
Mercs already have an advantage in Engagement Control and target to-hit DR mods in ACS (tables on page pg. 308) so I do not really see the need to give them additional bonuses.
...3. Allowing mercs to count as spec ops teams for spec op purposes. Basically, can dedicate merc units to do a spec op - they scream plausible deniability, after all, as expendable assets...
As a GM who has seen all five Houses actively using Spec ops teams over 13 ISaW turns now I do not see a need for more "independent' teams. Properly used the 30 teams (plus 9 more for the 3 Periphery States) running around the map are capable of creating a lot of havoc and forcing the players to implement defensive operations in areas they never thought they would have to.
For example, it is now April 3020 and the DC is currently dealing with three acts of terrorism, 2 major and 1 minor factory sabotage, one destroyed fort and the loss of 25% of his Industrial Tech DPs. Not all happened in one turn but the ongoing effects off all of these are currently in play.
More Spec Op teams? I suggest caution.
...Giving flexibility to mercs by making them more utilitarian like the above brings back an advantage to actually hiring them. The self-repair ability means that the House can KEEP using mercs and throwing them into fights as long as they keep regenerating....
I understand what you are going for but (in our experience) the 10% for -1 or 25% for -2 to the retention DR seems to have kept them relevant and they remain the most economical force for raiding. A similarly sized House command would also cost 22 RP to supply after a raid but repairing it would not help retain Merc commands. With the above mods, hiring more mercs makes sense and is cheaper than raising and training new "raiding commands".
The mercs have a real role to play beyond battlefield ops but are still vulnerable when faced by a full House command. They don't last long without support but then again, they probably weren't intended to.
Cheers.