5 out of my 7 teams are imports and they have a hard time too, even when they start out with Mystic Spears, Elven Bows, Great Bows and Studded Hauberks. Everyone transfers with the highest quality stuff available from the Mystery Menus.But, hey are all samurai/monk/ninja/valkyrie/lord when they transfer, so I have to downgrade 1-2 players to bishop/alchemist/psionic/bard just to get some spellpower. They usually start with 5 wiz/psi points, less than a "naturally transferred" bishop would have. But if I switch them to bishop in Wiz 7 then play them up to level 5-7, they transfer across with lower STR, PIE, etc.
They did do a very good job balancing the transfer teams with the "fresh start" teams. The game is fun (tough) no matter how you start.