Wow,your experiences are in sharp contrast with mine.Here's what happens mostly when I'm playing(I have mostly played in Early so far:I conquered 100% with all factions in Early and am now playing on High Period):
-Almohads almost always win in Spain,only once did the Spanish win(when I was playing with the Byz)
-The English win most of the time vs the French(+- 2 times out of 3)
-HRE gets attacked by everyone else and has never played a major role
-Egyptians do very well all the time
-Byz do well on Early,very bad on High
-Sic always get medium-sized before they are run over
-Turks don't often get big,but when they do,expand very quickly
-Poles and Huns never get big
-Russians always get big on High
-Aragonese attack Spanish or French in Early,attack Almos on High
-Danish invade Pomerania and move further east(however,when I recently played as the English on High,the Danish almost immediately invaded Sweden and Norway! )

I must say I don't have any Mod installed,do you?Maybe this explains the differences,otherwise different tactics do I guess.(I can't believe the Spanish lose against Almos most of the time when you play,they usually get crushed very soon)