Anyone played it? Does it differ in any notable way from Spellforce 1?
One thing I'm hoping is that it changes the AI slightly so your avatar can automatically attack the next target in a group rather than standing there like a moron till he gets attacked
Are the titans in 2 capable of doing more than being a useless waste of resources?

Well SP2 a little bit different game. It's like SP1 for casuals.
For me it's even different gameplay. But game is still good.

I noticed this a few days ago and haven't yet looked to see if there is a mod or a fix for that. I agree, it's extremely annoying, especially when my other units will happily attack the first enemy in sight.
Of course with that said I wish my healers weren't the first ones to lead the charge. :|

Healers, mages or archers. The kind who are dedicated to support and ranged attack, anything but melee and they just sprint headlong at the enemy to try and headbut them to death

Yes ... that is so annoying.

The AI is a weak side of SP games... Hell this even true for all german games.
The Titan in the SP2 is the unit with life bar "far beyond the screen". And he is the only one unit that equal to the main hero...