My pleasure.  I can see some kind of magical device or spell that frightens, placates, or convinces "dumb" neutrals to go away, but leaves intelligent enemies unaffected, but I have no problem with removing it altogether and shuttling troops to the site.  The only problem then is the sheer cost of their maintenance, but that's actually a good thing: it helps curb outpost spam.  You then ask yourself, "Do you really need that outpost there, punk?  And there, and there?  It comes down to meaningful choices.

I added the masterscouts ability to warden with much success. Before I did so wardens were hit or miss. Now they seem to make monsters run away from me. I like it as a choice, but it should cost more labor and be 100% effective. I am also adding a few spell towers that you can build at an outpost for a large mana cost. They cast a spell on enemy units at the beginning of combat. It is pretty much a firewall for your outposts. That might be worth adding to the vanilla game in place of warden.

I like a one-time charge. The less we add to the mana upkeep micro the better.