They're not supposed to be as strong as in vanilla RTW, but in 0.8 they have low defense and only a single hitpoint, wich is definitely a mistake in the textfile. You'll have to edit themselves or wait for the patch.

To my recollection, I gave them 4 hitpoints myself and a total defense of 10 wich seems reasonable. I use them as mobile javelin platforms, for scaring enemies and for encouraging my own troops. I only let them charge if I'm confident that the enemy will break. They're also extremely good at ripping through routers while pelting them with spears, making sure that they keep running.