Women rarely held formal positions of "military advisor," but some were able to exert influence in such a manner as to provide a similar effect for their nation as what the advisor's bonus grants. That's what many of the events simulate, for instance. And despite your protests, these events are from actual history, not fantasy. Maybe there's an advisor slot or two that's not intended to be filled with an actual historical woman, but the vast majority of this content is solidly rooted in the real history of our world.
But that's a side-story to the main thrust of your post above, which has two major issues with it.
First, you're holding onto the classic double-standard; the men can look like whatever, the women should look beautiful. That's your preference because it's what appeals to you personally, the male gamer. Men can come in a wide variety of appearances because whatever who cares, but the women should look nice because that's pleasant for you. You are not considering the female gamer in your complaint. Having a wide variety of depictions of men in a game makes men more comfortable playing the game; it feels natural, and there's probably someone there who looks something like you. When all the women look beautiful, the game is sending a message to female gamers: this game is for men, and the women in it are here for the enjoyment of men, not for you. You are probably inclined to disagree with this, but please believe me: if you are a man then it is very difficult to impossible for you to truly understand this. There is no equivalent experience you can draw from (no, not even all the pretty male actors in movies, because even there, there's still a much greater variety of types of men in terms of physical appearance). You must choose to believe the women who tell you this and the researchers who back this up with decades of evidence.
Second, you seem to waver between calling these portraits "average" and "ugly." I don't think this is an accident; I think they're basically the same as far as you're concerned. This isn't your fault; it's just a result of the media you've been drowned with since the day you were born. Women are almost always depicted as beautiful, except when they're not for some specific reason (usually because they're either a joke or a villain). So, anything that's not beautiful is ugly by comparison, even if she's average. Worse, a number of these portraits actually depict quite attractive women! They have great facial symmetry, appropriate features and proportions (nose / chin size), even great hair for the most part. But they're a bit older, they're not covered in makeup, and probably most importantly, they're not smiling or otherwise making appealing facial expressions. Suddenly this is "ugly!" This, of course, has very harmful effects on women as a whole, also backed up with decades of research if you care to dig into it.
It's not about "celebrating ugly characters." It's about representing real people first and foremost, and also about making the game more appealing to people who aren't men. This may be frustrating to you, as a man, since the default for things is typically to cater to your preferences (see: most other games, movies, and shows ever). But surely, with this small free DLC offered on International Women's Day, you can set that aside and let the other half of the population have a few scraps?
