I know this topic has been discussed before, but it's not like these boards are being spammed with a lot of new comments. Still, I'm having a lot of fun playing MTW after a long layoff and maybe this will spur some discussion.

I just completed a campaign as the Hungarians (unmodded VI, hard, early) and I found things to pretty easy compared to my other campaigns. Part of that I'm sure derives from the excellent unit roster Hungary has, but the thing that really stood out for me was no other nation developed superpower status. I've mostly played western factions, so usually it's Byzantium or Egypt, but when I've played eastern factions I usually see France or Spain take over.

This campaign was different. I personally wiped out just about every faction, and after the Mongol invasion just about every faction was still present. Byz had the provinces I left them after taking Constantinople, and Egypt still had their lands. Turkey was stuck in Syria but still hanging on. The Almohads had forced Spain into Portugal, but Aragon had Navarre and was blocking further expansion. England was largely intact but down to Anjou on the continent, having lost their other provinces to France. The HRE and Italians were also still around.

How often do you have campaigns where no AI faction rises to challenge your empire?