Thanks haha!
Oh I definitely think permadeath is essential in making a game based on war more fun. Maybe fun isn't the right word but it makes it feel if you're decisions actually matter, that you're there as the strategist who holds the units' lives in your hand. I know that some people don't care who dies as long as the game is completed, but I like to go the extra mile of keeping everyone alive so its so frustrating to lose any character, especially on an incredibly difficult map that takes forever to complete like Conquest lunatic chapter 17.
I have two different rankings for Fire Emblem games, one based on how challenging/how creative the maps are. Sacred Stones and Echoes are my favorite games but they're pretty low on this list because of how easy they are as you can grind infinite xp from dungeons. Radiant Dawn is also ranked higher than POR in this list because the gameplay was just better imo. My second list is my personal favorites/best stories in order. In this list, POR is above Radiant Dawn.
For my recommendations, FFT, Tactic Wars, and Ogre Tactics are among my favorites. Triangle Strategy's gameplay is super similar to Ogre Tactics but I'm not too surprised because they're both produced by Square Enix. Disgaea is also really good but that's because I have dumb humor. As far as gameplay goes though it's not bad. If you're more into permadeath games though, I'd recommend the rest of the Kaga games (TRS) if you haven't gotten through those yet. He's the creator of the first 5 Fire Emblem games so you'll find some similarities between the 2 series.
Definitely going to play Banner Saga after Triangle Strategy. Thanks for your suggestions, I'll look into them when I have the time!