I'm using BI and the victory conditions mod. The AI frequently invades navally and sent a boat to Sicily every few turns in my current Romani campaign. That made me get kind of frustrated, though, so i destroyed Carthage a little earlier than historically. I left them with Iberia so they will hopefully put a check on the Sweboz who have now conquered all of Germany and Gaul minus a handful of scattered Averni settlements (who until a few years ago controlled all of modern france with two settlements past the Pyranees.

It's been sweet in other ways, too. Rhodes and Crete have been held by the KH, Makedonia, the Ptolmies, and Pontos. The KH sent a huge army to the western mediterranian holdings of the Ptolmies but got back on their boats and headed back to Crete to fight a Mak full stack. Epiros has made numerous (unsuccessful) excursions to Asia minor from Illiria.

Also, I imagine because of the VC mod, other factions have been more dynamic (with the exception of Lusotania.) Pontos captured the whole northern Asian minor coast down to Rhodes, were reduced to Rhodes and one other settlement above their former Capitol, then came back with Hayasdan and mopped up the AS weakened by the Ptolmies. Now the Ptolmies have the southern part of Asia minor, Pontos has almost returned to her former glory, and the Hai have expanded eastward and are coming in contact with a Baktria that takes up the entire eastern border of the map and into central Mesopotamia.