[ano]

Also, the bandits are really not so bad as you describe as they have decent morale (10 compared to 8 of Bakemono-sho) and armor which other stealthy Shinuyama units don't get.
If you have resources, Bandit archer is a very good troop choice because he not only gets a bow but also a good melee weapon (Wakidzashi) and so you may use them in different ways in different fights. Also, bandits make definitely better raiders than Bakemono-sho because their morale is higher (very important for raids), their armor and weapons are better and the lack of mountain/forest walking is not important while moving at the enemy territory because you move 1 province/turn anyway.

Bandit commander is really a useless leader though, because Bakeomono scout is better in each and every aspect. Probably, Bandit leader was not so bad when Shinuyama did not get a scout with 40 leadership for 25 gold. A perfect scout, btw! This scout makes Bakemono Shaman almost useless while earlier (until 3.15 patch when Bakemono Scout appeared) he was primarily used for leading stealthy squads.
Also, it's worth mentioning that Shinuyama is one of the few nations that doesn't suffer from the lack of commanders early on. Both their starting commanders have good leadership (80 and 40). This is really important for start.