Just for the record I have only played battles as the Julii, Scipii, and Carthaginians.

I still have not gotten to a good mid-game point so I have mostly faced lighter cavalry with the occasional General's Bodyguard.

Cavalry is behaving exactly like I would expect. It destroys unsupported or out-of-position units.

Depending on the AI General's ranking I have owned the battlefield, had a slugfest, or been owned.

Cavalry may be to fast but its effects feel accurate.

Myself, I try for deep infantry-melee lines with missile behind and cavalry on the flanks. Never let elephants run free on your flanks.

I counter their cavalry with mine and I have seen the AI do the same.

Of course its seems harder to control the chaos than it did in STW or MTW but hopefully one of our esteemed modders will find a way to slightly slow down movement speeds and disable the (insert echo here) Battle Timer of Dooooom.