It's not a dumb question. If you didn't ask I would have suggested.
Ground battles would be amazing and perfect this game, well that and 10 new factions, 4 new ship classes, 1000 new technologies, 15 new planets, and the ability to travel in deep space without those stupid phase lanes, but ground battles would be good.
I boubt that they will ever be put in. If they are, it will be auto-matic. They could set it up so that capitol ships and powerful cruisers could send down dropships as a second type of planetary bombardment allowing you to capture planets without killing everyone on it and destroying the planetary upgrades. They should have done that in the first place.
Well, at the rate video games are going, especially sinse spore came out, we'll see ships and ground battles before the end of 2020, unless the world end in 2012 (doubtful).
I like varis2000's idea about how planet seige should work. Top notch.
I would have liked to have troops. Send in a bunch of Masterchief-Chuck Norris hybrids.