using rebel lands as buffer zones

[caravel]

I think the rebels that come from civil wars or rebellions as oposed to the "starting" rebels may be a bit more aggressive, but that's just a gut feeling with no evidence whatsoever!

All of the rebels are actually 1 faction, they cannot have a different behavioural AI as far as I know. They seem to use a passive AI. They can attack, especially if they're already at war with you, and especially if you have a small garrisson and they have a large force. The rebels that come from uprisings tend to be in larger numbers, hence they are more likely to attack you.

As to buffer zones, I don't use them. You're leaving open territory for your rivls to expand into, simple as that. Some provinces are just better left alone until you are ready, but buffer zones don't come into it.

@Sirron: I can't believe you have MTW v1.0! You should install the v1.1 patch for the reasons below:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

New Features
------------

Here are a list of feature changes that have
been added:

1) Enabled console commands added on MP
menus (excluding LAN). The commands are:
#ignore - to ignore all chat from
that player
#unignore - to see their chat
again
#kick - to kick a player from
the lobby of your game (host only)
#ban - to stop that player
joining any game you host
#unban - to allow a previously
banned player to join any game you host
#afk - to tell people you're away from
your keyboard
2) Messages added to report players hosting
games, joining or leaving rooms.
3) Added 'z' and 'x' to switch off drawing
certain types on the campaign map.
4) Added 'v' to show status of trade routes
on the campaign map.
5) There is now a limit on the number of
artillery units in a rebellion.
6) AI will take accessibility of walls into
account when deciding where to bombard
in a castle assault.
7) Turned off keyboard typing sound in MP
menus.
8) In Glorious Achievements: when multiple
factions have around the same points as
the player, it's now easier to
distinguish who has more points.
9) In MP 'T' is now used to talk to
everyone (except in French, see below),
'Y' is to talk to allies only.
10) In MP in the French language version
only 'M' is talk to everyone.


Compatibility
------------

1) Radeon 7200 - Improved loading and delays
on strategic map when selecting units,
provinces, after year-end sequence.


Improvements
------------

Single Player Improvements:

1) Campaign map stability improved. This
includes issues addressed for specific
cases.
2) Savegame reliability increased greatly.
3) Windows 2000 support fixed. Occasional
instability was previously noticed.
4) Artillery is now working when cycled
as reinforcements.
5) The header text no longer overlaps the
text in the 'could not uncover secret
vice message' when attempting to uncover
a secret vice of a general with a spy.
6) The brother of a king now gets a "son
matures" event generated for him if he
doesn't come of age before the succession
(of his older brother).
7) Fleets escaping from a sea battle do so
at their own speed.
8) Fleet AI has been tweaked to increase
number of trade routes.
9) Removed the ability to build more than
one of certain unique buildings in your
provinces. Was possible to build, for
instance, 2 Grand Mosques at the same time.
10) Tweaked Crusade AI.[/B]
11) Multiple famines in the same region no
longer occur.
12) "Loyalty traffic light" is now always up
to date.
13) Mode to mode hang bug - caused by
attempting tutorial after starting
campaign game is fixed.
14) Mode to mode hang bug - caused by
attempting campaign after starting
tutorial is fixed.
15) Fixed replays not working properly when
bringing on reinforcements in battles.
16) Fixed right-clicking on a ship to bring
up info parchment and occasionally
producing a blank parchment.
17) Re-enabled log files.
18) If a fight drags on for a long time, then
the factors start to get increased until
one or other of the combatants dies.
19) The AI will be more careful with its
generals and kings in combat.
20) The AI plays more dynamically with its
cavalry. It'll often break off from combat
against infantry, and either charge back,
or attack at another point.
21) Improved replay stability.
22) The Trade income penalty now has an effect
when one of the Vices and Virtues a
general may have is Venal. This gives a
-20% penalty to both Trade income and
Agricultural income.
23) On the third year round in the campaign
tutorial, the missing red button on the
information window is now added.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

24) Transition between early and high, high
and late periods: if the player has any
units (such as the king/princes/royal
knights) being retrained/upgraded when the
time period changes, the units will no
longer be lost.
25) All the listed vices and virtues will now
affect the Generals immediately, not
randomly.
26) Game Options tab on the Mini Map (if they
turn "Show Computer Moves" off) bug fixed.
27) When "Show computer moves" is on (and by
pressing End Turn) the computer moves will
now be shown.
28) When reinforcements are called during a 3D
battle, the new units are now able to use
the Group function to place them into a
group with other reinforced units.

29) All non-intended factions (including
Muslim factions) can no longer build Swiss
pikemen.
30) After installing the game, if the user
attempts to launch the game in 16 colors a
message will appear stating that the game
needs to be in 256 colors or better to run
properly, the game will not output an
illegal operation.
31) The Vice/Virtue "True Zealot" - that was
listed as giving the owner +30% Zeal in
whichever province he is in - now changes
the Zeal in his home province (where he is
governor) when the general in question is
elsewhere.
32) The Vice/Virtue "Very nervous" now properly
gives a +1 bonus to acumen when this is
assigned.
33) The Vice/Virtue "Master of numbers" gives
a +3 bonus to acumen correctly.
34) The Vice/Virtue "Fanatic" gives a +40%
bonus to the zeal of governed provinces
correctly.
35) When playing a catholic faction full
campaign, the player is now unable to build
multiple cathedrals and gain the excess
income from each cathedral.
36) Upon winning a Historical Campaign Battle
if you select the first option, Replay
Battle, and then quit from that battle,
your progress is no longer lost.
37) If the player has the widescreen option
on, they can now see the tooltips.
38) Remaining unit(s) can no longer be grouped
by itself/themselves.
39) Glory goals: You can now see exactly how
many points each faction has in total -
previously you could only see the height
of the bars (which isn't precise enough
for you to be sure) or go to each faction
in turn and count up the red dots for each
goal.
40) Playing a High period Russian campaign,
the player starts with an armourer's guild
in two provinces and the units granted to
the player all have silver shields. This
now functions correctly.
41) In a Late or High period campaign with the
Danish, the player can now build/train the
correct ships.
42) The leaders' portraits will now not be
able show the same picture when a new leader
takes the throne or the same as any other
faction at that time.
43) The Golden Horde Emerge panel now says
"...None are safe from this new threat. A
number of other rebellions in progress have
declared their allegiance to this faction."
44) Inquisitors trying your mercenaries for
heresy now say mercenaries or your faction
name instead of rebels.
45) If you have a general that, due to vices,
has a negative valour on the battlefield,
the negative number representation will now
be shown correctly.
46) Famine messages no longer shown more than
once.
47) AI will now pick a balanced force of their
best units as the initial 16
48) AI can withdraw beaten up units so that a
fresh reinforcement can come on.
49) All the player's artillery pieces are
chosen in the initial 16.
50) Buildings now correctly give valour
upgrades.
51) Some changes to unit balancing.

Multiplayer Improvements:

1) Improved GameSpy connection menu to
clarify CD key entry (you do not have to
enter it for every game).
2) Fixed game list / player list refresh
problems.
3) A warning is added to the Host MP Game
menu to remind hosts that they can't host
from behind a firewall or router.
4) Improved performance & refresh rate on
game lobby.
5) Game now redirects people to Activision
site after they register a GameSpy account
through the game.
6) Game now correctly handles multiple MP
games with the same server name.
7) Game now remembers selected player name
in chatrooms (previously it kept dropping
back to 'Room', making private
conversations tricky).
8) Game now correctly updates 'playing'
status for players after they finish an
MP game.
9) Player's army no longer routed if he
drops from an MP game.
10) Fixed booting of people with the same
CD key (so it always happens).
11) Game now sends useful game results to
GameSpy server at the end of an MP game.
12) Various fixes made to make replays work
better for MP games.
13) Addition of faction vs. same faction MP
battles.
14) Various crashout problems fixed on
internet menus and in MP battles.