Ugh...

Units are so formless that nothing feels like it has impact. I had the same problem with Medieval 2.

I charge in and the unit spreads out into thin lines and stragglers, then both sides just break down into amorphous blobs. There's no unit cohesion, I usually just give up trying to give orders and mass select all units and just charge them in one blob at each enemy unit in turn. Everything breaks ranks and joins the blob then loses morale and crumble away.

I mean...there's not even enough time in a battle to even both trying to flank the enemy. By the time your cavalry have fought their way through the enemy flanking force the entire centre where your infantry were engaged has become an amorphous scrum and there's not really a flank or rear left to charge anyway...that's assuming that one side hasn't broken completely and the battles over in 3 minutes.

Then there's those bizarre 'control point' thingies. Take the high ground? Are you insane? The control point is right in the middle of the map! Stand there or you will lose!

I dislike the campaign map too. Why can't I have my own garrisons? Why must I have a limit on the number of armies I can field? Why can't I 'march divided, fight concentrated'? Why bother with these family members getting bonuses and attributes and skills and stuff if they just randomly vanish from the game because someone, somewhere poisoned them? I've had at best a general with 3 skills...they then vanish and become a statesman or something and I have no idea where they went, they didn't die I just can't use them anymore. It's like 'See how cool it would be to level this guy up? Hah! Fooled you he's gone and you have no idea why or how to ever stop it happening again!'.

Provinces and Edicts? I like that. Imperium dictating army limits and stuff? No. I hate that, so damned much. Want to be a small, powerful nation? Nope. You HAVE to go on a world conquering blitz if you want to do anything at all. The AI is so braindead that it will let you. The ONLY place on the map where things have gotten a little bit more interesting is playing as Parthia because you end up fighting on 8 fronts at once against about 12 factions simultaneously and even then it boils down to hunting down the enemy stacks and trapping them in cities fighting what amounts to defence in depth strategies.