Darth Canoli
Arcane
I can't stand Battle Brothers. It is rpg-lite, has disposable units, bad itemization, and no real content. Just get a contract, go fight a simple, easy battle, go back, rinse, repeat. I don't understand how or why people liked that or Darkest Dungeon. Two overly simple, extremely rpg lite games focusing on disposable units and simple combat. I just don't get it.
Battle Brothers and Darkest Dungeon are two very different things, while i can't stand BB for all the reasons you mentioned, i get the appeal from the latter, mostly the settings, the ambient, the struggle, the soundtrack ...
Of course, it bored me as hell quite fast, still, i think it's really good at what it does : rogue-like / resource management (more of a struggle really) / ambient game but of course, when you like the latter, the settings and the glimpse of RPG elements and want it to be a RPG, you're screwed because it's not and that's why it bored me pretty fast, because it's a rogue-like in disguise, aka a game for people who want to do the same thing over and over again for 100 times without any noticeable progression or barely.
About X-com, i just gave-in again after being 15 or so years sober, tried Area 51 mod for a change, it's great; except for one map that looks like the maps i hated so much from X-com apocalypse; the new missions add some variety and that's good.
More aliens (maybe even too much), more maps, more mission variety : https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,3328.0.html
As for the random / passive character dev, you know that but there's ways to develop chosen stats, just use them.
Even characters with low reactions will react when paired with Lucky Luke and of course, they will improve it.
Your backpack is always full > increased strength, etc.
Of course, you probably have to kill something to improve stats significantly.