Don't know if it is a cheezy tactic or not but I have found in my Julii campaign that Bribing the other Roman factions family members is very effective... Get them while they are young and on their own as it is cheaper and they are effectively adopted into your family. Your family gets bulked up at the detriment of the rival Roman factions...
Note that this never appears to work on faction leaders or faction heirs, which makes sense....
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