For some reason whenever I play this map and the AI in the 2nd randoms IR they just sit on their own planet and don't do near anything the whole game. One game they took a planet at like 1-2 hours in and got an Executor sometime after and that was all they did the whole game. Last game I played they attacked one of the planets they would have expanded into naturally that I took myself with their starting fleet and maybe a handful of capital ships... 2-3 hours into the game.
I've played against NR when they've gotten that spot and they act as normal. Probably easier to just pick a faction for that slot but it's very strange nonetheless.