It wasn't that Armada 2526 was horrible, it was just that it did nothing better than any other game. It tried to offer real time battles like SotS, but SotS did it better. It tried to offer planetary development like GalCiv, but GalCiv did it better. And so on. Ironically, the one area where it COULD have beat the other games - by offering PBEM play - it never even tried! As a PBEM game, it could have been a winner! Overall, it just displayed a mediocre design. But who knows, maybe with an expansion or two, it might flower into something better? That's what happened with SotS.
As for mech books, you've got me there. I've only read one such book (forget the name; wouldn't recommend it anyway). If you do find something good, be sure to let me know!