i think adding NPC's would improve the feel of the game but they shouldnt be randomly running all over around the map. they have to fit in the map, some maps it would make no sense, but on alot of maps civilians would be there, old people ,wounded people, very poor people ,children with dead parents hiding next to their bodies.
Maybe having them in groups huddling together in rooms,and or bind a few of them to the buildings so they randomly sneak about the building, also when you get near them they beg you for help, food, transport out of the war zone, make some NPC'S insistant so you have to smack them around a bit or hit resupply key, so they go away
If you kill them you get negative point , if you resupply them you get a point, max of lets say 5 NPC points to avoid exploits.
Look at the stats on civilian casualties and soldiers
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/ww2stats.htm
Russians about 17 m civilians and 7m soldiers
Germany about 3.5 m civilians and 4.5 million soldiers
Seems being a russian soldier you would be seeing 2 dead civilians for every soldier that died, and germany almost equal 1 to 1.
So its true that alot of maps wouldnt have many civilians, but obviously on some of these historical reinactment maps, there were a hell of alot of civilians dieing. I could see liningrad with alot of civilians in the buildings, cellars and tunnels. Have them begging the russian's for help, and have them smack the germans(minimal dmg) when Germans turn their backs on them