After playing 10 more hours, I still agree with you on these two points. The only characters that get some spotlight (not character development mind you, their character haven't even been established yet for that to happen), are Machina and Rem and they're way too one-dimensional yet. But I won't make a final judgement about a game I have yet to finish.
As for RTS, I'm inclined to believe they've added it just for the lulz, no other way to explain why it's so damn easy and yet so time-consuming at the same time --> pointless.
I really like the gameplay though, that's what really motivates me playing. Just one thing: is it me or are some cities where the missions take place just carbon copies of each other?