Questions for those more knowledgable than me(so almost anyone)..

[RAF]

First, I am getting whipped badly by the EASY AI...I can seem to handle the independents ok, but when I run up against another AI player, WHUMP!

I've played mostly Marignon, used gems, but have not given my heros alot of orders...is that the key? Any general suggestions?

Secondly, I've seen some cases where enemy troops will just appear next to my province, and them not control any other territory around...usually Caleum...also when I tried Ermor, suddenly at the beginning of a turn, I see there was a battle half way across the map from my nearest unit...go take a look, and I have many undead, and 4 commanders! Have no idea where they came from, but appears similar to the Caleum scenario...

Third and Lastly, Ermor...I played with the Soul Gate option...I sort of understand Ermor kills off the non-undead population of the territory, and I see a quantity of corpses appear...
How exactly does this work? Does killing off the population create the corpses, or battles in that or other provences? I know I need "priests" to raise dispossed spirits, shadows and apparitions, but how many corpses do each of these take? What if I run out in a province, can they return? Since I can't recruit like normal, what are fortresses good for, other than extra prodection in a province? Can I get any other non-hero undead units thru priests, or do I get these only thru spell casting?

Sorry this is so long, but so many questions....

Thanks for the help...