I’m not gonna lie, I did expect Endless Legend to be at number 1. Civ 4 is a solid pick though, though these days I have grown quite averse to its doomstacking.
I think you make a solid case for your choices. I agree with a lot of things you said, too. Good list.
For me personally, Distant Worlds ranks somewhere near the top. That is simply a judgment by the fun I’ve had with it in the past, in spite of its flaws (and boy does it have flaws). What I do want to say about it is that in my opinion it does micromanagement absolutely right. There’s a lot of it, but that’s not a bad thing! It is a commonly held opinion that “micromanagement is bad”, but I don’t agree with that. Micromanagement is only bad when it is tedious and repetitive, such as using the same combat tactics with the same armies over and over, something Age of Wonders 3 sometimes falls prone to. But if every detailed decision or operation is a one-off thing that has its own impact and needs not be repeated ad nauseam, then micromanagement is *fine*. Saying micromanagement is inherently bad is a fallacy; by that reasoning you would only ever play idle games that play themselves, because clicking on a button yourself is too much work.
In my opinion the micromanagement in Distant Worlds avoids becoming tedious thanks to its automation features. even so I usually play with most of them off.
As for the Endless games… I don’t rate them very highly, I’m afraid. It’s a shame because I would like to like them. They universally look and sound great and Amplitude is a very respectable developer. But though I’ve played every endless game with the exception of Dungeon, I’m hard pressed to think of a time I genuinely had fun with any of them. It is what it is.

Notes are now in Nate’s hands 🙂

You get money back than destroying your ships in MoO1 – I think it’s a third from the current price of that model (if the model is very old the current price would be very low though).
The hard limit was 32000 ships per stack (or per model – I’m not sure) – a quite significant number, specially if an AI has it.

Nice list. Initially I was a little surprised by the omissions of Colonization and Civ 2 but then i realized this would begin to rapidly turn into an “Everything I loved about Microprose” list.

I hate these Top X lists, no matter for what, because they are bound to do more wrong than right, but at the same time they usually offer some food for thought and discussion.
That said, I’m quzite disappointed with this list, because I feel there are a couple of omissions and a very serious error. Master of Orion, as good as it is and as much that game may have coinde the 4X monniker, is not the first 4X space game.
That honor should probably go to Spaceward Ho! (released in 1990); that game should be included in the list due to “Multiplayer” as well (and the AI isn’t too bad either).
Then … Civ 1 or 2? I mean, come on, guys, Civ 1 has been THE game, and the only question is whether the inclusion of MP option is worth more. Civilisation should be in there as a franchise, and quite probably at the top spot.
Then there is Gal Civ 2. Isn’t Gal Civ 2 everything that bogged the genre down into endless micro-management, SINGLE ship nonsense, mindlessly blown-up research diagrams? I mean, when you press Next turn in MOO you’ll see a lot of ships move on the screen, and when you get down on it it’s virtually HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS (when the Alkari are in it as well). How many will you see in Gal Civ 2? And that’s third best? For being a bookkeeper’s dream? This on the heels of MOO 2, which, in my opinion laid the foundation for games developing in that direction…