@AxeloftheKey Having played around for a bit I'm more than just a little inclined to agree that something must be going on with the faction packs. I can't make my game do what yours is. So I give up my theory that somehow low wages with or without soldiers' needs on is causing your problem. The only thing I was unable to test is if low morale somehow has an effect that amplifies low wages. I just got too many damn cats in my HQ.
So my apologies. I know it's a little more than frustrating when your game is sideways and some jerk comes along and tries to suck all the air out of the room and spends all afternoon running down a pet theory.
I figured you had to have Guards covering Martial Plots, Workers covering Agricultural/Recreational/Commercial plots, and that Warriors had to not be doing a job so they would be ready for Assaults
With auto role change on:
Recruits assigned to martials/guard posts will become guards.
Recruits assigned to rec plots will remain Warriors.
Recruits assigned to Industrials/Commercial/ Provisoners will become workers.
Patroller count as guards at the outpost they are based out of.
But you're telling me I could turn that option off, assign Warriors to a farm, and they wouldn't become Workers?
Yes! Except you don't have to turn it off. Just change their roles if and whenever you want.
I've found that changing roles seemed to have an effect on wage/ration/ and equipment production. I kept warriors at my rec plots. But recruits assigned to guard posts I switched back to Warriors. Of my three martial plots I changed two back to warriors.
After you change a role, go into workshop mode and out again to make sure the change has updated. You'll see the difference in the production bars of your HUD.
I just played around with variations to see what made which bar fill in more. In the early stages of my HQ before its one vassal was producing fully, I seemed to benefit from changing the guards at the martial plots to warriors. However, the thing that seemed most important was maintaining 2/3 Warriors to 1/3 every other roll. This maintained the morale bonus which, I think, can be up to +100% bonus to current wages/rations/equipment at HQ.
Again as you change a role you should see the difference in the bars as soon as the HUD registers the change. So it's fairly easy to play around with. Maybe a chore depending on how much you like to manage things and marshal troops.
I built my Abernathy Vassal up from scratch. It's a combo of farms/industrials/commercial plots. (And a couple of martial plots, the guards won't stay assigned to) Made to order to try fill up the overall gang production bars.
The key in vassals for high morale and its production bonuses is again not too many guards: 1/3 Guards to 2/3 Settlers or Civilians.
As far as control of vassals goes, I tried to stick to only have less than a third of the total population as guards in the settlement. Patrols from HQ seem to give more control than any one guard. Especially, if you can maintain a high number of warriors at HQ. More warriors at home base makes patrols more effective???
I've also varied roles situationally. Before I assaulted Tenpines I changed enough roles to get to max force strength (15???). When I was done, I changed them back to whatever they were before. I wanted to make sure as many recruits as possible got a chance to get some experience.
As i was just changing every one into guards to run my tests a while ago, I noticed that I seemed to benefit from have the martial plots being worked by guards and not warriors. Somehow things had changed from earlier.
None of these findings are scientific and are based purely on how things seem to be working for me. Except for the bits I ripped out the War and Peace that is the patch notes. I'm just fiddling in the dark with lit match. As soon as I think I've got a handle on it, the ground shifts a bit. It seems to be a rather dynamic system where changes in one place effect another. Dynamic needs between outposts/vassals instead of between plots in one settlement.