Were Roman Generals More Closely Involved in the Fighting than Generals are Today?

They were far more involved than generals are today.
In the Second Punic War the following generals lost their lives in battle or in an ambush: Gaius Flaminius, Lucius Aemilius Paullus, Gaius Servilius Geminus, Marcus Manucius Rufus, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, Gneius Fulvius, Gneius Cornelius Scipio, Pubius Cornelius Scipio (the elder), Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Appius Claudius Pulcher and Titus Quinctius Crispinus.
War was as hazardous for a general as it was for a common soldier.
That said, some generals understood that preserving the life of the leader was essential for the cause and took measures to protect themselves. At the Siege of New Carthage, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus surrounded himself with three stout soldiers with shields, and thus protected himself from missiles thrown from the walls by defenders. In my book You Won’t Even Have My Bones, he discusses the matter.
“Soon after this battle we received bad news from Rome. Both of the year’s Consuls, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, and Titus Quinctius Crispinus had been ambushed while on reconnaissance. Marcellus had died on the spot and Crispinus had died of his wounds.
“It completely escapes me why Consuls should have been out on a reconnaissance mission and unnecessarily putting their lives at risk when there were plenty of soldiers in the ranks who could have been doing that. Is the life of a Consul worth more than an ordinary soldier?
“For the purposes of war it is. When I was in the ranks, I put my life at risk and could certainly have been slain at Ticinus or at Cannae, but as Imperator I have the responsibility for the lives of tens of thousands of men serving under me; while in wartime no one is completely safe, I do not take unnecessary risks. I’m sure Hannibal does not either.”
This same general, however, would take personal risks when he thought it was necessary. At the Siege of Illiturgis, when he saw his soldiers’ efforts flagging due the resistance of the inhabitants, he started to climb the scalade himself. His men called him down and renewed their efforts.
Similarly, Julius Caesar, when his soldiers lost their enthusiasm would throw himself into the fray until his men interfered and renewed their efforts.
Which Roman generals are known to have survived the Second Punic War or died of natural causes? Marcus Claudius Nero, Marcus Livius Salinator, Quintus Fabius Maximus Cunctator, Tiberius Sempronius Longus, Gaius Terentius Varro, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, and Quintus Fulvius Flaccus. The list is shorter than the list of those who were killed in the conflict.