Given the way many of the discussions I've been reading/participating in, it'd probably be closer to the middle...
Actually, being a fairly attentive forum lurker, I'd say that I've noticed most people either do like or don't mind command points in general. The outlook is generally positive, especially in the cases where Alex has taken the time to explain that it is something they have already tried both ways, and found that the current system works best.
If in truth it was closer to half or more players consistently doing away with command points if given the option, then yes, as a point of good game design I would suspect that the system should probably not work the way it does or even be present.
I don't think this is the case, but if it were, as your scenario would suggest, then that should necessarily be a cause for concern.
As for the rest that isn't hyperbole, all I can say is that if half or more players were consistently frustrated to the point of editing other gameplay mechanics in order to find it enjoyable, then that is indeed also a good indication that there are fundamental flaws in the game's design in each instance.
Flux is an arbitrary limitation to your shields, as to your weapons. Amunitions are a limitation. Credits, crew, fuel, all limitations.
Flux is infinitely renewable during combat in various ways, ammunition is a balance factor for the strengths of the weapons that are limited by it and it is a choice to use them AND there are hull mods to bolster them, credits and crew and fuel are infinitely renewable and the latter two are even customizable with a great level of choice based on the ships in one's fleet.
These do not compare to command points, especially considering command points directly determine how intuitively you can control your very own units within the main area of gameplay.
Please, there is a difference between limitations and RESOURCES.
You seem confused. Command points are a limited resource. You can add an extra couple during combat by capturing control points if you're lucky, determined, or outfitted specifically to excel at doing so, but once used they are gone and you are reduced to relying almost exclusively on the AI within very limited parameters, or taking direct control of one ship at a time. It matters on a case by case basis, and each case has a hard limit. That distinction is important.
In theory.
In practice, I, for one, got used to command point conservation so quickly that I have yet to run out, and almost never use more than half of the beginning allotment. I imagine most people find it this easy in general to manage for the moment. I've never seen it become an issue, but it isn't hard to imagine situations where it could.
It may not BE arbitrary, but it certainly FEELS arbitrary, and it is objectively limiting on one's intuitiveness of control on a strategic level.
In the end, it's merely a point of personal preference. For now, I don't prefer the overarching sense of artificial limitation, but I have a feeling that I will change my mind several times as the game is further developed, and the systems tie in to even more emergent elements of gameplay.