As for helping faster players, maybe you could double the amount that is stolen from the Aruclo Special Division, but keep the amount that players receive.
Example: players still get only 2.500$, but ASD loses 5.000$.
The difference is taken by Rebels as "their share": they need ammo for the raids and food to survive.

You mentioned the Arulco Special Division feature.
I am scared about the enemy throwing jeeps and tanks into the mix of patrols and assault groups (and garrisions, i guess), so i play without ASD, yet. I wanted to try it out at some point though, but...jeeps and tanks suprised
I think it is actually the jeeps that scare me more, having seen the demo video of it shredding mercs left and right and surviving a direct RPG hit.

The usefulness of HVT Strikes is not quantifyable (game progress and enemy composition ever changing and then still random), but it is among the lines of "player moral": if you are playng while being tired, you make bad choices, overlook details and don't lead your troops effectively. This will make your troops perform poorly.

HVT has a similar, though positive, effect: we are doing them pain, victory will be ours *insert heroic speech*

I've noticed though (almost always having Ira with binocs observe the area), that enemies are much less likely to bandage each other - apparently much fewer medics around

Propaganda was a hot competitor, however.
I picked Alma as town number 3 for our liberation efforts and...for the first time in years i slightly panicked, because the "town no.3" we started to liberate didn't come with 20+ loyalty.
Since it was Alma, i cleared 7 patrols in its vicinity. Add 3 more enemy groups we took out under way to Alma (moving out of Drassen, so the battles were close enough to count). But after the first sector, we had only 12 suprised loyalty.
Immedately went for the second sector (18 loyal) and then moved out to do the Bloodcat Quest (haven't done the quest in a decade or longer).
With the quest completed, militia training for 2 sectors, Rebel Radio lvl2, and 3 more battles, (all that over the course of only 48 ingame hours - i got all sweaty and had a high pulse from all the hectic ;) ) we are at 29 loyalty now.
I guess for Alma (2 more sectors, 1 more quest) i won't activate Propaganda, but Balime and Grumm are different topics, with the loyalty being a serious aspect now.
I'm loving how loyalty works under ARC thumbs up