Well, IMHO the problem with Horse Archers is rather a problem of orders available : those guys have bows, mobility and are armed with spear.
Their usage should be "harass", that is come in range, shoot, retreat, rince & repeat, wait for rout or flanking position, then attack !
Problem : we have "attack" and "fire" orders only, that are good for "one usage" troops (Heavies attack, Bowmen Fire) but don't go well with Light Cav.
A "Harass" order should be nice and unveil the true power of Horse Archers !
Pocus, about Velites, maybe you can use them as Hypaspist for Arco : less resources-costly infantry, good enough against indies in start game when you're light on resources.
Maybe ...
[ September 29, 2003, 08:50: Message edited by: PDF ]