Oops ... all that writing and I did forget to mention Yumi Samurai ... . Thanks SimonAppleton, for adding this in.

Yes, Samurai Archers can be very useful in SP campaigns in particular because you end up producing them with good upgrades and base honor. In MP, because of their base cost, it is expensive to upgrade them to the point where they melee well. As most Yari Samurai and No Dachi are in the H5-H6 range (monks H3-H4), you'd have to upgrade archers significantly to get them to the point where they could compete effectively with these. Hence, most use them strictly for ranged capability when they use them at all. They will outshoot muskets 1v1--until their ammo runs out. Then they are only useful in filling gaps in an emergency, and flanking weak or wavering units (and the remaining muskets will mow them down if left on the front line without arrows, as muskets almost never run out of ammo in a battle).

Muskies are favored in MP, though many bring 1 or 2 archers to complement their ranged line (of 4 muskets). They can shoot over the heads of units in front of them, whereas muskets cannot, so this can be a handy ability in many situations.