does the AI pick research items completely at random?
I would think you could fake a strategy out of them by supplying lists of combos (such as getting phase missile upgrades + assailants, or shield upgrades + guardians + shield restore) that it randomly picks from.
Then when it has some spare cash and has finished achieving all the previously selected combos, do a fleet expansion + pick another set of combos.
Actually I know a few of us modders do exactly this. The AI tends to prioritize techs that unlock things like new ships and structures, as humans do. Mods like my Enhanced 4X Mod, ZombiesRus' Sins of the Fallen, and Lavo's Sins of a Galactic Empire take advantage of this by making fake ship unlock research that only the AI can access, and giving techs we think the AI should get (phase missiles, Advent shield mitigation etc.) as prerequisites.
This does lead to the AI making smarter tech picks, and is one of the few ways modders can make the AI actually better without cheats. However, it only works if the AI is in a decent economic position, which it often is not due to its basic management incompetence. Hence it is not really enough to replace the resource cheats, since without money smarter research priorities counts for nothing.
