I always play with high starting research because I don't like dragging out the initial phase with no class differentiation or the annoyance of missing a critical tier 1 spell in the roulette, which somewhat reduces the problem. The 2 problems compound each other unfortunately, making this combo very vulnerable to bad moves or bad luck until the first Robots come out. Dreadnoughts start slowly, and Halfling starting units are super weak between lack of happiness bonuses and easily oneshotted Jesters being the only source of elemental damage. That said, neither covers for one particular weakness of the other.

And once Eagles get Very Lucky, they provide an airforce with the mobility that machines lack. Halflings also have Ponyriders as dirt cheap early counters to Storm Sisters or Sorcerers. The Robots feed the Engineers turn one, boosting hitpoints/happiness and thus survivability in turn to repair the Robots, and also rapidly leveling themselves to Fireworks.

3 Robots plus 3 Engineers makes a cheap and deadly stack available relatively fast. Halfling in turn solves Dread's problem with healing through the Robot/Halfling Engineer interaction. You get perfectly happy cities and armies roaming the underground or tundra without needing Elemental terraforming spells. Machines lack Halfling allergy to melee, and Suppress Nature completely negates their hatred of most climates. Halfling and Dread cover for each other's weaknesses very well. I do really like Expander for Dread though, as fast Builders are very helpful on top of all the little economy bonuses. Cannon and Flametanks already do full damage at range, and the former already penetrates obstacles. Only muskets really benefit, and minimally compared to 3 shot multichannel units. Dread has an effectively infinite mana sink for the early and midgames in manacells, so getting a summon is purely up to taste.

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