I didn't bother to set gambits on the character I used as the team leader so I still was in control of battles and had plenty of fun with it. I might automatically set Libra to be cast so I can see HP or protect or shell in an area that requires it to save a bit of time, otherwise I was fully in control of my main character. That allowed me sufficient input into the battles while not having to worry about controlling the other characters because, hopefully, they'd have gambits that would be good enough to win any battle.