Quote Originally Posted by desdichado View Post
What I suspect is that Cav has been overpowered in their ability to push back enemy formations even once they have effectively stopped their charge.
No.
Actually, MTW2 is notable in that cav is especially BAD at pushing units. You would think that horses could push men much more effectively than what is shown in the game.

What happened is not cav, but simply pressure. When there is lots of men on both sides of a mélée, the larger group tends to push the smaller. The situation you describe seems to be relatively few men - your "bait" infantry - against large numbers - the Venetians.
When the whole Venetian army charge, what happens feels somehow logical : their large number and mass push your lines.

Additionnally, I tend to notice that, under some somehow undefined circumstances (usually when there is lots of troops moving at the same time in the same place), movement seems to quicken a lot, with units running far faster than usual. I'm not sure how it happens (perhaps some mechanics to prevent unit for stockpiling one on top of another) but the added speed may add to their pushing power.