Realistic Playing...

[Banquo's Ghost]

Perhaps "Conquest" should be removed from the GA list? What do the others think about it?

It might be a good idea. I see the AI over-extend itself too often in GA mode in a land-grab. Mind you, I'm not sure how one would program 'just enough'

[Boris of Bohemia]

The horde was fun for a while, but eventually you'll do anything to avoid the endless horse archer battles (the heavies are useless). It can ruin MTW. I've gone so far as stocking the provinces with assassins (I'm the #3 vote).

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Well, I figure if the Holy Roman Empire has utterly decimated the combined armies of Poland, Turkey, Novgorod, and assorted rebels, and annexed them, I feel that a large garrison in the east wouldn't be tipping realism much farther...

[Loucipher]

Well, I figure if the Holy Roman Empire has utterly decimated the combined armies of Poland, Turkey, Novgorod, and assorted rebels, and annexed them, I feel that a large garrison in the east wouldn't be tipping realism much farther...

Well, the question here is just how large a garrison you think of.
Perfectly viable (from my PoV, of course) to have, say, 400-500 men garrisoned in a critical provice, or even a full stack (960 men) in a chokepoint province. Having three full stacks in nearly all provinces bordering Khazar and Georgia is something entirely else. In my first campaign I was able to counter the Mongol threat only because my armies were accidentally in this region, forming a mass force in Khazar to attack Georgia (then Byzantine-controlled). Come to think of it, the Mongols just have had a massively bad luck back then