So, the Squad Rules in the Age of Rebellion GM screen... Any good or is it just a matter of giving your PCs a group of minions to control & using the minions rules for their actions?

They help a ton if you want to have a large battle. It makes the PCs more survivable and can make for some cinematic combat. On top of that, giving the PCs a squad each reinforces that they are a part of a larger Rebellion, and how they choose to treat those NPCs (cannon fodder or not) can reflect their values and their duty. Good stuff.

For the GM, the squad rules also help keep important adversaries alive once the PCs get good at mowing through minions or dealing a ton of damage.

Cheers... Worth the price of the GM Kit then?

I think so. I've relied on them as my PCs got beyond 200xp more than I expected, and the adventure in the kit is also a good source of information and ideas.

Look here from User KRKappel (sounds like the teacher from the simpsons), he wrote down some examples (and the rules):

16 hours ago, AceSolo5 said:

Cheers... Worth the price of the GM Kit then?

Definitely. A group can do with all 3 GM screens, simply because those screens are useful for players as well and thus for this alone they are worth their money. The Adventure in the AoR GM screen comes with some great location, a classic plot, and one big plot hole, which can be dealt with in case that some player noticed. So that adventure is worth the money too.
Lasty the squad and squadron rules are not perfect, but essential for playing AoR. Once you get into bigger combat, especially in space you want and need those minion groups as protection for the PCs, the squadrons are basically plot armor and story element in one go.

Great stuff, thanks for the info & Paris, cheers for the link to that thread, most useful Just put my order in!!

Squad rules are also really helpful in keeping you BBG alive longer, so yeah it's worth it plus the adventure isn't bad.