I understand what you mean about how an officer going down can be a great turning point. The problem with trying to implement something in game is as follows. The first thing that you suggested about the screen going black is a good idea overall for any person. I very much don't like anyone being able to help their team from the dead, which I see happen in many games. The problem is with the second part of that first suggestion about not be able to speak with their men. This is because of third party software like Teamspeak. There was a discussion I read recently about in game communication, all leading to its gonna be exploited by third party software like teamspeak.

The rest of what you say in my experience doesn't apply, my experience being North and south mod, and arma. In the regiment I'm in when the CO goes down the next in command steps up, and so on and so on. This is how it was in real life, so it could of been someone good taking over or bad. Yes there was a moral thing to deal with but depending on who took over and their influence could change the moral to good again, or make it worst.

The whole respawn thing doesn't really concern me meaning. If your playing in a server with respawn it's probably won't be organized like a line battle. If it is it's probably because it being run by and played by a big group who will have rules in place to help this sort of thing. A rule there is with the group i'm with in north and south mod is you can't leave spawn without a certain amount of people or more in your line. So if an Officer dies and respawns he has to wait for more of his men to die and respawn before he can move out. Then it's basically a different line, they don't join up with the orginal.