Rod,
Balanced is not symetrical or equal numbers. A true designer looks for more in the way of balance than points, or terrain. :)
Victory point hexes or exit hexes may be one way to provide balance.
Let's face it, many of the "designable" scenarios based on history, can be balanced through the use of victory points and hexes.
You can design a historical scenario with it's better defensive position or the three to one attacker advantage, that can still be balanced? :chin:
Even with scenarios that I find are balanced, many players find them unbalanced ... until offered a mirror match.
There are even a large number of scenarios that were designed for play versus the AI that are actually well balanced scenarios for PBEM.
And, the human factor cannot be discounted? ;)