Thx for the prompt responses!

Didz, thx, I didn't know about the possibility switching to a long campaign mode after doing a short one.

And yeah, I'll probably choose H or even M for the strategic part... those silly little raids really annoyed me...

As for The Long Road mod - doesn't it require more economy micromanagement than vanilla?
I am financially challenged :-) so all this merchant thing is probably the worst change from M1 in my case. Well, maybe I should say the 'Agents' part... I seem to have less pitched battles (not counting vermin fighting and silly raids :) ) and much more intrigue in Medieval II which is frustrating. Well, anyway, if 'The Long Road' leans towards the economy part it's not good in my particular case...