I agree Armenia can be quite difficult too ! Its economy is similar to Pathia. Its position is similar to Pathia. Its military is similar to Pathia. The only thing is that Armenia has to choose where to attack in the beggining. There are fat lands and closely packed cities to the south. So, Armenia is slightly better than Pathia.

For Pathia, the best traditional attacking option in the beggining is to attack Armenia. Then Seleucid Empire. These two are not a problem. The problem comes when u leave Egypt alone. It will become a superpower. Thier arrow shooting chariots and long range bowmen and pose a proble to HAs. Egypt is a worthy opponent if you let them grow. And, Seleucid Empire and Egypt should war each other. But the many campaigns I played, if I attack Seleucid Empire, the Egyptian will ally with Seleucid and cross Arabia to attack my city, Seleucia (Babylonia).
So after some experimentation, I found out that while I Blitz Armenia and take only Seleucia (with a Wonder) from the Seleucid Empire, preparing a stack full of HAs at Susa and send one young General aross the Arabian desert with it and gallop straight to Memphis, ignoring anything, can be quite fun.

I've tried Armenia and Pathia, both can be difficult especially if you leave Egypt to grow into a superpower.