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To me, the worst part about the leadership modifiers is how low they can go in what are really pretty even fights (or even, by any real measure, a "win" for the side that is going to get swept in-game)

I see this most with my Kroot, which of course are maybe an extreme example. If my 18 kroot and 12 hounds get charged by 10 space marines, I'll kill maybe 5, and take 10 causalties. So I've lost a third of my force and he's lost half of his, and now we outnumber them 4-1. So, what decision do the kroot make? AUGH! SPAZE MARINES! RUNNNN! I'm testing on a 2 or a 3 if I have a shaper. Even if I was leadership 9 i'm testing on a 4, against a force where I'll win handily if I don't run.

This doesn't make any sense. As has been said before, it rewards low saves more than anything else. With the current rules, the only way a superiority-in-numbers squad can win a close combat is if they wipe out their opponent in one round. I've killed all but one marine or CSM in fights and still lost combat by enough to watch 18 remaining kroot get swept by that guy. It's nonsense

Truthfully, I think a quick fix would be to keep the rules as they are, but also return outnumbering. Not sure exactly how to do it, either a bonus to the combat resolution or a bonus to the leadership check. Something like:

2:1 +2 LD (min 4)
3:1 +3 LD (Min 5)
4:1+ +4 LD (Min 6)

It might be better to add it to the combat resolution score instead, this would help fearless tarpits.

2:1 +2 combat resolution
3:1 +3
4:1 +4

I mean, seriously - I really like a lot of the changes to make close combat quick and brutal and avoid some of the cheesier kill zone manipulation, etc. But the pendulum swung too far towards simplistic.

Well, imagine the scenario where you get two of your squads charged - say, 10 guardsmen and 5 grey knights get charged by 5 harlequins.

You get lucky and lose 8 guardsmen, and kill 2 harlequins. So now your 5 Grey knights are testing on a...3? 4? When they outnumber the Harlequins 2:1. What exactly is happening there? "Man, those Harlies sure kill Guardsmen good, lets run"

Obviously Ozy is right as to what Morale is about...but that doesn't make it sensical in game terms. Really, I just think strength in numbers got the shaft in 5e, in the name of simplicity. I like the new rules. I like how they play mostly. I'm glad we dont have weird kill zone manipulation on charges and that everything is quicker and more brutal. But I think the pendulum swung too far towards simplicty and they shoehorned a fantasy rule (combat resolution by casualties) into 40k without thinking it out.

I think a simple and fair compromise would have been to keep the rules as is, but also add bonuses for outnumbering into combat. Either for combat resolution or for the leadership check after combat res, something like:

2:1 +2 combat resolution
3:1 +3
4:1 +4

or conversely for leadership

2:1 +2 LD (min 4 max 10)
3:1 +3 LD (min 5 max 10)
4:1 +4 LD (min 6 max 10)

Something, anything to return what was actually one of the clearer, more coherent rules in 4e, where they wrote about why outnumbering gives an advantage in CC

I think people are missing at least part of the point. Sure, some of the units are superhuman soldiers. That's fine. But other units, their whole point is that they're not-so-superhuman soldiers that use strength in numbers to win. This no longer exists. They lose and run or get swept every time, unless they are fearless, and even then they get reamed by even one or two living enemies who are outnumbered 5:1 or more.

Pointing out the ways that 5e combat improved is not an answer to the other problems. Yes, it's quicker and it's about squads not characters and there's less weird charging in a line or tying people up with really god-awful but fearless units. People get that. Some of those are good, really, I agree.

But right now, I can send 30, 40, 50, even 60 weak or lower initiative guys against 10, and if I get unlucky and leave one of those 10 alive, I'm probably testing on a 5. 40 vs 10 turns into 1 against 28 and I get a -3?! What? It's a system that breaks down very, very badly in the outlying cases, and a system that penalizes any unit that should be decent in combat but relied on numbers in 5e.

I don't expect the rules to change, obviously. And I can understand absracting it out to say "well, that morale test and them getting swept is just part of the overall battle". Thats fine. But there's something about an obvious sure victory in combat being turned into "you got swept" because of 3 or 4 more casualties than the opponent that really ticks me off.