I don't understand, people are talking about realism but they want it balanced.
Realism:
Most soldiers do not die in formations on the "battlefield" they die routing, cut down when they start running. So routing is very bad in the real world since that is when most people die.
Balanced:
Routing saves your gear and your troops, no; a retreat saves the bulk your soldiers who drop everything and run for their life's while Cavalry screens and counters to protect, and dies for the most part.
Realism:
A army of 60 knights should destroy 500-1000 peasants, 60 knights is equivalent of putting 60 tanks against 500 postmen armed with letter openers.
Balanced:
People want to win, they want to wear cloth against plate and still win.
Realism:
No one who has a 100 man strong army would fight a 10,000 man strong army. They would never even be able to catch up to them. The smaller force would skirmish and run, the bigger force would send out scouts and cavalry to hunt down and destroy the smaller force.
Balanced: I don't even know
I am not even sure anything I have written here is true, but it sounds like it... a little bit, does it not.