I feel the kingdom management system gets in the way of campaigning. Sure, you can set it to auto, but it still feels like the player is supposed to manage it. I'm ok with the stronghold in BG2 though.

What about this game?

Pretty much the same. With the addition of what people consider "Might & Magic" like battles. Not received well by the community due to several circumstances.

Most players think: if you ignore that entirely you have a greater game.

What she said. There is an option to turn it off, but I am told that you do so, then you miss a couple side quests. Also, if you turn it off you are not allowed to turn it back on for that playthrough.

If you turn off Kingdom management, you will most likely miss any chance of doing the secret ending. Don't turn it off for that ending alone (plenty of guides out there for it), it is by far the best one IMO. If anything, companion quests can be by far the most time-consuming (Nenio for example)... I can take or leave the Kingdom management… It isn't hard... it isn't complicated.