KH vs Macedon AI question

[Kurrel]

Having only recently acquired EB, I've just started a pair of campaigns. Both are going pretty well, but I'm concerned over what happened at the beginning of the Koinon Hellenon campaign.

The game starts with a pretty dire position, with a large stack of Macedonion troops outside a very lightly defended Athens. I was expected to have to either lose Athens or have to relieve the siege after swiftly butchering the island where the faction leader starts... but the Macedonians head west immediately! Not just the stack, but taking along units garrisoning the two nearby cities.

Is there any justifiable reason they left like this or is it AI stupidity doing what no general would have considered?

I ran down the two nearest cities after Macedon pretty much emptied them but am stopped there in cause I should restart and see whether the Macedonians act any better.

[Cute Wolf]

they think they should save Pella first... as Pyrrhos army camp just outside them and ready to plunder the aigai

[Kurrel]

Ah! I see, thank you very much.

I'll gladly use their choice to snatch a breath before utterly destroying them, in that case.

[Brave Brave Sir Robin]

Yeah its sort of a precarious situation for all factions in Greece. KH has to deal with a large Makedonian force outside Athens, Makedon has to deal with a decent sized Epeirote force with elephants outside Pella, and the Epeirotes have to deal with a large Roman force nearby Taras. No one is safe.

[Unintended BM]

The AI situations in Greece are always screwy for me. As KH, you can easily attack Korinth with no trouble from the giant stack. With Makedonia, Pyrhhos almost never attacks Pella, he always goes back to Epirus. As Epirus, no one does anything. I've played a game where I sent Pyrhhos and the starting armies to Italy, and no one ever bothered Ambrakia or Epidimanos for many, many years. It seems to work slightly better when the player isn't one of those three factions.

[ximxim]

Playing as the KH, is there any way to preserve Makedonia as a decent power without stifling your expansion in other directions? Since the early situation is so precarious I always find myself blitzing them and they wind up with that single region in asia minor. I suppose you could let them keep Pella and expand by boat...