Gimped by strong units (availability and leadership)

[ganjatron]

I notice I tend to hire level 1 units, mainly because of their availability. For example, I don't mind using peasants and devilfish, or even thorn hunters. What I really hate more than anything with this game, is having to restock my units when there are no units around! Losing 5 of my 11 Alchemists in Freedom Isles makes me wonder... why am I using Alchemists at all?! I need to run back to the marsh to fill 'er up and get the full potential of that slot... very time-consuming.

Also related is the leadership cost of these units vs. the leadership you have available. To get the most out of your leadership, you would need a very low leadership requirement to be the denominator. For example, I have 3000 leadership right now and I just saw a Giant available in Dwarven lands. Each Giant needs 1600 leadership - so if I get one, I'm basically letting that 1400 remaining leadership go to waste...does this make sense? Giants may be an extreme example, but how about Royal Thorns - 380 leadership each means I can only use 7. That means I have 340 leadership going to waste in that slot.

So - Is it better to use up all your leadership and fill up your slot with level 1 units (low leadership req. units) or get the best unit available and not worry about meeting your cap? 600 peasants(no leadership waste/easy to replenish) or 1 giant(1400 leadership wasted/very hard to replace)?