I have been really enjoying my frost brand wielding quintet of slave princes:
I was having a rough time against Sauromatian poison arrows until I blunted them with these guys. Pretty steep gem investment, but it was worth it. If any of the 5 received an affliction, I always had a replacement nearby to trade equipment with him. I would then just retire the wounded prince to shuttling troops. Once the experience levels began to rise, I no longer had to worry about replacements.
