I actually love the strongholds, but I only started using them with the expansion, I was just too tired of the old content.
I just wish they would involve it more in the game. what about reputation or experience bonus that comes with prestige? right now it only influences conquests, which is a great idea, too, but very poorly implenented. it needs more and much better rewards. something people care about.
similiar with starfighter. I played it every day in the last two weeks because I wanted the scout decoration, its incredible fun. but again, very poorly involved in the game, its basically completely separated. I was actually surprised people still played it.
stronghols and conquest are a great way to motivate content, but honestly the game needs more content and better balanced rewards. I am really upset that the best and fastest way to get the top tier gear at the moment is to do the easy mode of old operations over and over again. it's not like thats exactly what we were already tired of before the expansion.