I feel like the way they did the battle system would have worked better either A) you could have more control in the A.I. like with a gambit system and/or B) had the A.I. members fill their ATB bars quickly. I didn't really mind switching constantly to work on filling up the ATB since by the end of the game it fills up really quickly for whoever. you control, but it would have been better to stick with the character you have the most fun playing as while focusing more on using everyone else's abilities when needed. I feel like the way the ATB bar functioned the way it did to force you to use everyone and to learn how to use them, and I did like being forced to a bit because I was genuinely happy with how everyone played except maybe Barret (though, he grew on me quite a bit by the end).

I never did try messing with the Provoke materia, but it's a shame to hear that it wasn't very useful. I would have liked to skirt attention away from the person you are controlling with a possibly more tanky character. I never really struggled to keep any of the characters alive usually, and when I did I was struggling with the tanky characters just as much.