I must play a different EB as I have NEVER had this problem. It doesn't matter if the enemy cav general is a gold chevroned mo-fo, if he charges a line of elite spears I WILL mow him down. And hoplites of any stripe have always proven darn effective against cavalry. Only the actual general can be somewhat unrealistic, but I rarely need 5-10 minutes of stabbing to kill him, and if I charge with a bodyguard unit on a lone bigger he goes down and stays that way. But then I only use Medium battles, as recommended. Any harder and you have no right to complain about how tough they are, as they get bonuses to start with.