yeah they are pretty kickass.

taking crete is not that big a Problem, the macedonian army wandering around Attica does resemble a damocles sword tho and imho is what might be considered "Hard". With combined Greek Forces and some Basic knowledge of hoplite vs Phalangite warfare they can be quickly disposed however and give a nice "founding myth" for your new "empire". But Newcomers do get intimidated by them.

Once you learned how to use Haploi and Sphendonetai effectively the KH campaign is much easier.