MTW Crusader Recruits and Deserters

So, since I'm still not yet a full member, and unable to respond to yet another thread in the MTW: Main Hall I'm creating essentially a duplicate thread here so that I can include my imput.

The original thread was about being unable to train Knights Hospitaller. The player is playing Sicilians. There is a reason they cannot train Knights Hospitaller because these Knights are unique only to the Italian Faction. Likewise the Germans are the only faction to get Teutonic Knights. The English, French and Spanish likewise have their own unique Knights (the French and English sharing the same Knights). The only benefit Malta has is if you're the Italians and you decide to launch crusades from it. If you do, your Knights Hospitaller are +1 Valor. I'm in the Late period myself and I only got 4 units of Fanatics in my recent crusade. That's it.

Damn, I hate still being a Junior member.

Another part about the thread is whether to immediately send off a crusade to avoid the inevitable desertion rate. Well, it all depends on how long to wait, rather than should you wait. Depending on the Zeal in the province, you may gain more recruits and less deserters, so it might be beneficial to wait a year or two. With that said, here are my observations.

I am currently in the Late Period, playing the Sicilians. Malta is my Crusading province, and I just trained a Crusade. I received a total of 400 Fanatics. I also had 160 Chivalric Knights which I added to the Crusade. I decided to leave the Crusade in the province for 5 years to see the effects. Other than the Archers, none of the missile troops are trainable in the province, so it's important to note that even if a region may not be able to produce a set of units, those units will inevitably find their way to the crusade.

These results are based on Malta having a Zeal of 68%.

Troops:

Initial
4x100 Fanatics
4x40 Chivalric Knights (added after creation of crusade)

Total: 560 Men

After 1 Year
3x100 Fanatics
1x74 Fanatics
3x40 Chivalric Knights
1x37 Chivalric Knights
1x60 Archers
1x4 Archers
1x45 Crossbowyers
1x30 Arquebusiers
1x100 Peasants
1x45 Peasants

Total: 815 Men

After 2 Years
3x100 Fanatics
1x 46 Fanatics
3x 40 Chivalric Knights
1x 36 Chivalric Knights
1x 10 Feudal Knights
1x 60 Archers
1x 24 Archers
1x 42 Crossbowyers
1x 28 Arquebusiers
1x100 Peasants
1x 34 Peasants
1x 22 Pavise Arbalesters
1x 34 Spearmen

Total: 856 Men

After 3 Years
3x100 Fanatics
1x 20 Fanatics
3x 40 Chivalric Knights
1x 32 Chivalric Knights
1x 10 Feudal Knights
1x 60 Archers
1x 33 Archers
1x 39 Crossbowyers
1x 41 Arquebusiers
1x100 Peasants
1x 23 Peasants
1x 1 Arbalesters
1x 22 Pavise Arbalesters
1x 50 Spearmen
1x 7 Militia Sergeants

Total: 857 Men

Year 4
3x100 Fanatics
1x 1 Fanatics
3x 40 Chivalric Knights
1x 32 Chivalric Knights
1x 9 Feudal Knights
1x 60 Archers
1x 36 Archers
1x 34 Crossbowyers
1x 48 Arquebusiers
1x100 Peasants
1x 13 Peasants
1x 48 Spearmen
1x 6 Militia Sergeants

Total: 827 Men

Year 5
2x100 Fanatics
1x 80 Fanatics
3x 40 Chivalric Knights
1x 30 Chivalric Knights
1x 9 Feudal Knights
1x 60 Archers
1x 28 Archers
1x 35 Crossbowyers
1x 45 Arquebusiers
1x100 Peasants
1x 5 Peasants
1x 47 Spearmen
1x 4 Militia Sergeants

Total: 782 Men

As you can see it picks up a large number of troops after the very first year. The second year sees continued growth, while it levels off practically at Year 3 before trending downwards at a quick pace. The variety of troops broadens, at the expense of strong groups. Higher Zeal may extend the point where you begin to lose more troops than you gain.