Except you're missing the good features of the addons folder. You see, you don't have to split the factions into split RARs (also worth noting though, that 7zip can do that, and usually offers smaller filesize too). You can have the core elements and every individual faction in a separate 7z, as things in the addons folder are combined as though they were extracted right there as they are. And it still can give a feel of a unique game, as you can still modify all the files as an addon, it's just easier to make a modification or patch that way, as well as it's far easier to install, can be installed inside an existing GAE installation (insures that you are never using an outdated GAE version too), along with other useful reasons.
Even Military will move to addons in the next release.
Total conversions work well with addons, even with new menu models, etc;
Concerning torrents, I wouldn't recommend it. You need a large base for torrents, and they are very very difficult to get started, and overally, more hassle than they're worth. Just stick with the traditional download methods.
