I've played through the first couple of missions and so far I'm really not enjoying being pulled out of the action every 40 seconds for another cutscene showing me precisely where the next objective point is a couple of hundred metres away.

Also, does the game pipe down with playing the same line every time a unit of mine dies?

Does the game get better with a more hands-off "here's your resources/reinforcements and a few objectives. Get it done." Age of Empires kind of thing?

It remains object to object driven with you adjusting the unit mix, directing the strategic weapons and the paths of your units. It's a scripted campaign, not an open battlefield.