Only recently having gotten back into the game after a bit of a break, I was really surprised to see this behavior from resistance fighters and dyson gatlings. Assuming my present game is typical, it seems to me they render my territory nigh-impregnable, which is rather the opposite of the intended design goals of the game as I recall. That is, they don't help you win, they just keep you from losing, which drives stalemate situations and little else.
Plus, it takes all the edge off attacks that should be a threat. I suspect in the future I'll just leave the factions in question off, but I'd certainly like to see something more interesting done with them.