I'd been thinking about how to counteract these AND give my cavalry half a chance against 3BG of heavily armoured Saka and Guard cavalry.
I toyed with an extra BG of Hypaspists, or an extra BG of Agema cavalry - but was still massively outnumbered in skirmishers. The extra points required to field Alexander means you essentially lose a BG on the field. Those +2 on cohesion tests better be worth it!
Then I found out that Russ only has 1 BG of Apple Bearers - so my Hypaspists, Pike and Hoplites meet Russ' foot on a roughly equal points basis but with more bases.
So I've kept my foot numbers as before, except I've added a BG of slingers to meet Russ in equal numbers there and added a BG of Thessalian cavalry meaning I can meet Russ on relatively equal terms (I'm down on points in both foot and horse but I think Alexander may help tip the balance in the key fights).
But proof is in eating the pudding - or something. Tactics have to be spot on as this will be a much tighter battle than the Punic ones we've been fighting. In those, the Roman foot generally avoided a big clash with the African spears and won as a result. This time the pike / hoplites pretty much have to get involved - so much will depend on the cavalry performance on the flanks.
Alexander used his pikes to pin the enemy and used his cavalry to inflict the killing blow. With so many bows and heavy cavalry to contend with this will be a different type of battle. The skirmishers must obliterate the archers, the foot must overwhelm their superior opposition with sheer numbers and the cavalry must prevail against the odds. Alexander is going to be busy!