Here is the thing: Until you know all the "hidden" benefits of the ethics (events, decisions, buildings, units, ec), you can't make balance suggestions just by pointing at the ethic bonus itself.
If you want examples:
"Church Attendance Duty" in EU3 was terrible in terms of stats - but the fact that it frequently triggered +1 stab events made it worthwhile.
"Laissez-Faire" in Vicky 2 sounds amazing on paper, but the terrible capitalist AI makes it really, really bad for the first half of the game.
"Spy Network" duty for your spymaster in CK2 seems useless - unless one of the money related events triggers and gives you a giant headstart in the early game that allows you to overwhelm your neighbors.
If you want examples:
"Church Attendance Duty" in EU3 was terrible in terms of stats - but the fact that it frequently triggered +1 stab events made it worthwhile.
"Laissez-Faire" in Vicky 2 sounds amazing on paper, but the terrible capitalist AI makes it really, really bad for the first half of the game.
"Spy Network" duty for your spymaster in CK2 seems useless - unless one of the money related events triggers and gives you a giant headstart in the early game that allows you to overwhelm your neighbors.
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