I mostly play Thalans as Technologists and try very hard to put my Hyperion Matrix on a research bonus tile. That plus putting ability points into creativity and getting the Thalan creativity-boosting techs has led me to pretty much ignoring the NLCs that were crucial to me in Dark Avatar games. Even when I get the tech via theft, conquest, or a whim in the trading screen, I almost never build the things--they are very expensive, after all. I still pick Neutral, but that's for the free terraforming and morale bonus.
