In the European East, especially the Western coast of the Black Sea (Olbia and Kallatis)you can train excellent really long-range Skythian/Sarmatian foot-archers and heavy Bosporian archers. They really kick ass! Put six of them behind a few mercenary phalangites - it's like watching machine-guns do their deadly work. And should they be forced to fight other foot-soldiers, (well not against cavalry or a phalanx) they do quite well.