1. Don't pay much attention to the simulation. It helps to understand some enemy's orders, but animation is just cartoons.
2. It helps to prevent counter-attacks.
3. Change him. There is a hidden parameter for every player that affect his performance. I'm not talking about Quality here. If his performance is bad from match to match, there is nothing you can do except to get rid of him.
4. Old and dull? What does that mean? Look, you are playing videogame here. It's all about formulas and triggers. There is an option to force counter-attack that affects the gameplay. You can't get the same effect using other orders. If it's off, it's off.