Peasants

[Loucipher]

Hmm..I'm playing VI and the peasants still cost 37 florins in upkeep.

Exactly... the all-wise pros forgot to put a solid line between peasants in MTW and peasants in VI. Even with VI installed, the peasant unit in the medieval campaign costs 37 florins a year, where in the Viking campaign - 12.
I prefer to garrison my provinces with something that can actually hold a little longer - vanilla spearmen are better for this: they can hold up for a while and, being commoners just like peasantry, tend to attain quite a big Acumen values...

[Total War Merc]

I would never take a peasant in battle, they run easy which sets off the rest of your troops. The only thing peasants are good for are for garrison castles to stop rebellions in that province. (But if there is a rebellion, then the province is lost in my eyes!)

[Loucipher]

In fact, I love peasants in battle. In the enemy ranks, that is.

they run easy which sets off the rest of your troops

For the very reason I tend to target them with a fast unit which will break them at an instant. The sight of commoners running for their lives can unsettle all but the bravest souls, and with enemy morale impacted by this flight, the whole army will break just that little bit earlier...

The only thing peasants are good for are for garrison castles to stop rebellions in that province.

I'd disagree, for the reason given in my previous post and also because...

(But if there is a rebellion, then the province is lost in my eyes!)

Not only rebellion. Sometimes your provinces guarded by a peasant mob get attacked by a single unit of spearmen, archers or what-have-you. When you try to defend with peasants, they get beaten by just any unit. When you defend with Spearmen... well, that's another story (Archers, Peasants and even Cavalry units would have a hard time wrestling the province from you). If you plan to garrison a province, make it something that actually counts!

[matteus the inbred]

Not only rebellion. Sometimes your provinces guarded by a peasant mob get attacked by a single unit of spearmen, archers or what-have-you. When you try to defend with peasants, they get beaten by just any unit. When you defend with Spearmen... well, that's another story (Archers, Peasants and even Cavalry units would have a hard time wrestling the province from you). If you plan to garrison a province, make it something that actually counts!

I agree. Although it does depend where the province is of course...I recently had Friesland swiped out from under me by the English using an under-strength fyrd unit and a dozen FMAA...if I'd had anything but peasants I would not have lost, however, they are so utterly monstrously bad at fighting that I failed to even kill a decent number of enemy...frontier provinces get UM or Spears, often units that have become obsolete as I tech up and need to be 'retired'. Capturing Scandinavia or Britain is good in VI cos you can spam Thralls and Fyrd to garrison places, although Fyrd are frankly a bit too good for that.

[Boris of Bohemia]

There's a great combat use for peasants, sort of, though it's a little cheesy. Say there's a stack of rebels you want to bribe, like the Vikings in Norway or something. If there's time, attack it with a good stack of peasants a few times (autocalc) and you'll be able to buy valored units with command stars.

[Loucipher]

Ah, yes... cannon fodder to sharpen the teeth on...
I constantly use the other factions' (or rebel) peasants for just the same... a sight of a peasant rebellion is (almost) always something I welcome with joy

[Boris of Bohemia]

The English are falling apart and there's 1100 rebel peasants in Wales. Who shall be granted this coveted gift?

[Loucipher]

Wow Gimme gimme gimme