Phew.... after reading some posts about all sorts of problems, i can honestly say my game is ok.

French campaign h/h:

My knights lower lances to charge
I have seen no passive AI yet
My bowmen load and fire at a reasonable rate
My faction is growing....

My only problem is the campaign map keeps crashing - battle map no probs, campaign, sometimes every 2 mins, screen goes black and sound stutters with no way out but a reset