Useless or redundant units?

[Epaminondas]

Hi, first time poster--so please be kind!

Anyways, I have been playing the demo for a while now, and I am wondering why there are so many seemingly useless and redundant units. By "useless," I mean those units are so awful that you would hardly use them unless they are free; by "redundant," I mean those units that are not awful but whose roles are better served by other units.

Here are some examples of such units, and I am wondering if people agree with me or whether I am not using them properly. Further, I would welcome if people can suggest other units that may fall into this category--as I have only thus far played those nations that are unlocked for the Demo.

Let me begin with the two nations that I play most: Arcos and Kaliasa.

Arcos:

*Icaryds: What is the purpose of this unit? Given that Arcos lacks reliable missile troops, I can see why a flyer could help in the missile troops/mage suppression department in the early game. But we have two problems. First, Arcos does have a wonderful--if over-priced--flyer in the Wind Rider. Second, even considering that the Wind Rider is over-priced and cannot always be massed, the Icaryds are inadequate for the job. They have poor attack skills so they won't be able to kill much, and they have low protection (for Arcos), so they can't tie down enemy missile troops/mages either. Against a decent-sized army, they last basically one or two rounds, do very little damage, and then are obliterated. I suppose you can say they work as cannon fooder, but they are too expensive at 18g for that role as well. So what's up with these guys?

*Chariot/Chariot Archer: It isn't that these guys are horrible; they are subpar but serviceable. It's just that I don't see these guys doing anything that the Wind Riders cannot do and do it better. The basic problem is this: If you have a very powerful flying cavalry, why do you need a lesser cavalry? I do concede, however, that in later turns where cash is overflowing and you've maxed out your Wind Rider production, you could use these guys. But when you reach that point, wouldn't an HP 10 cavalry that is not a flier be obsolete anyways?

Kaliasa

*Markata Archer: These guys are absolutely the worst units I've tried to use. As with most super-cheap troops, they die fast. These guys are cannon fodder par excellence. The problem is, missile troops are not supposed to be cannon fodder. Or at least they should be able to fire at least one volley. But they often cannot even do that, because their small bow (the epitome of sucky weaponage) won't let them get off a volley, even when you stick them at the front of the tactical battle map.

I also feel the same about the Markatas. 5 HP melee-are you kidding me? I appreciate the need for cannon fodder, but 5 HPs with no protection is too little even for cannon fodder.

*Guhyaka/Yavana: I feel the sacred melees of Kaliasa utterly useless. The problem is their near-nakedness, their protection 1 armor or non-armor. Should 35g-40g sacred infantries be this vulnerable? Other than the fact that they are blessable, their basic melee stats are only marginally better than the considerably cheaper Bandar Swordsmen, other than the plus 5 HP and plus 1/4 Def (which is balanced out somewhat by the plus 9 protection the Bandar Swordsman enjoy).

Now possible solutions?

I don't see how the Icaryds can be improved without buffing them to the point where they become indistinguishable from the Wind Riders, minus the pegasi. Perhaps less is better in this case, and the unit should never have been conceived.

The Chariots need to be slightly buffed. How about adding about 3 HPs to account for the horses? As a related matter, I think all cavalry should receive such HP boost--which is consistent with the trend in other games where cavalry usually has more HPs than infantry.

As for the Markatas and Markata Archers, again, they are just too pathetic. Why not remove them altogether? The Atavis are comparable to the cannon fodder units of other nations.

Finally, the Yavana melees can easily be balanced by giving them *some* armor. I know it's hot on Kaliasa but even Indians (whom the nation is based, it seems) armor! Why not give them at least a leather equivalent?

I'd like to hear other people's thoughts, and please be gentle to a newb