@Oden:
I hope Berkelyboi sees this thread and posts because he played a Saba campaign but lost. He could give some good insight into the units. I am battling them currently with my Ptolemy campaign. They do seem to have an unusual staying power for such low stats. However with that said I am sure that you are suffering significantly higher casualties with them. They have to be one of the hardest to play with the "yellow fever" on one side and the "grey death" on the other.