Ultimately, I'm still holding out for multiple, discrete, named saves at fixed game-time intervals, rather than 20 minute real-time over-written save... even this would be improved by alternating between 2/3 on a cycle (as with back-up strategies)... Anything to improve the supply of useful (to you) saves, and to ease the creation of AAR reports. I find manually pausing and saving is unreliable - when the need is greatest, is when I am focussed fullest on developing the situation, and either the saves or my immersion suffers.
I still haven't managed to make a decent stab at an AAR for BfTB, and my COTA ones were patchy when things were most interesting