It all depends on how many players you have. If there are 7 then the Anz player will get rather board. So yea I would give him other minor powers (France/China) to keep him interested in the game. If you have 6 players, and you split 2 axis, and 4 allies, then the person that ends up w/Anz should also get more, same as above. I don’t think there will be a set match up though, it will be up to the people playing the game.
If you have 3 people playing allies, I would try to make sure that all 3 people are involved from the get go. The UK will be at war, so no problem there (would keep UK E & P together). The Anz could really go to the UK or US in my book, they will be a minor ally to both (most will keep them w/UK). Russia and US may be out of the action for a while. I would pair China to Russia because I think Russia will come to China’s aid in the Global game and they will most likely have to work together vs Jap. That leaves France going to US, so that player will have something to do the first few rounds as well. Any surviving French units (land or sea) will most likely just back up US (or UK) positions. The US & French turn order is back to back, so it would be easier for them to work together, as Italy goes between UK and France.
Sounds like my vote for the ally side w/3players would be:
Russia + China
UK (E & P) + Anz
USA + France
I also think for a change of pace people may split into more of a theater type game (like Napoleon has suggested) every now and again. The UK would be obvious, but some might take it further and may even split the US between two people working in different theaters. It would be fun to negotiate the US income, and how to play it.
The best part is that there are so many como’s for the allies. So each time you play you can change things up.
