[Alneyan]

In addition to reports of longbowmen slaughtering well-protected troops, I also heard of less optimistic reports, where the longbows were only deadly when used at a fairly close range (a sort of kiss of death). Either way, I think your solution works well SC: longbows can kill troops with a bit of luck (a lot of luck in the case of knights), perhaps better than in history, but they will be less fearsome once the enemy has reached the archers.

Of course, that's the theory: in-game actual use of the longbow is another matter altogether. I would think they are fine with your changes: they remain powerful against independents, but another human player can use protective spells/arrow fend/storm to make your archers much less of a threat.