It sounds like you're just very good @ Total War.

There's only so much the AI is going to be able to do to you when you are as competent a player as you are.

Players like yourself, and those of us on the org who can eat and breathe a title for ages, are the minority. Looking around the web, most people are getting their rears handed to them by the AI so far.

Myself - I played a good dozen custom battles last night, on all different difficulties. 3000-5000+ men battles. I see the AI as a vast improvement over past titles, but I also see myself as much better in this time period than I was in antiquity and medieval. It just makes more sense to me...I like gunpowder, what can I say.

I'm sure when the mods get rolling you'll run into many a challenge.