Quote Originally Posted by gardibolt
But having learned that lesson, I DON'T rely on my allies to be faithful. I garrison large armies on my borders with them, on the highways between our cities. And voila, no backstabbing.
What's the point of being allied then? The AI rarely attacks me as long as I keep decently-sized border guards, even when we're at war.

Generally it seems that 'medium' is the level at which it's best to play at. Battles run at an endurable speed and the AI behaves somewhat more realistic (I dare not say "challenging") on the campaign map....that's weird.