Ah, a comment on the settings:
I don't like the dead seas. Make them less important O.K., but this way you gain absolutely nothing by conquering them, and I didn't like that so much.
The absence of independents really makes one concentrate on the strengths of the own nation. Was interesting and surely forced me to learn Man inside out.
What I couldn't understand was that noone contested me with the mercenaries. They were the only means of magical diversification. my two merc mages served me well, forging many a pendant of luck and a fire brand.
I even had a death mage and let him die before summoning at least a reverent
Magic only to level 6 i cannot judge yet, since I really never played an endgame yet.
Whats not so good is, that all my mages had nothing to do in the end.
And I sure missed GoH
The assimilation part played no role for me. I conquered Pan rather late, and it gave me nothing I didn't have.
I guess that works better with much more nations in the game, preferably really tightly packed. So that half of the nations are gone by turn 30 or so.