The only balance problem I experienced in R1 was
When the Lindos jumped in during the Artificial Node blockade mission. Obviously it was impossible to defend the friendly destroyer from the Lindos' beams, but I hardly got half way around the Lindos before it took off into subspace.
As far as all-around difficulty goes, I enjoy a good challenge. It forces you to stay on the edje of your seat and maybe replay the mission a few times. It's only when I lose the mission 4-5 times when I start toning down the difficulty. Or if it's already on very easy, I get desperate and break out the cheats.:drevil: