The Sturgians are stronger, it is now possible to compete with the Khuzaits, even to make them retreat in their conquests. And above all I think the Sturgians have a smarter "demeanor". Perhaps the player also understood better how to play with them. I managed to take one of their main city (Baltakland), keep it and thus weaken them a bit, and most importantly, Baltakland allowed me to have faster and more efficient Khuzait troops myself.
But I still fear the "awakening" of the Khuzaits (the game is not over, we continue to progress slowly). They once tried to take back Baltakland and lost. I suspected they would return to the assault so I stayed with my army nearby. We were slightly outnumbered, but while defending in the fortress, they caught a volley of arrows that decimated them (nice battle, the Khuzaits had broken the wall but ultimately it was fatal to them).
The AI works a little better, the forces are more balanced. Oddly, I was expecting more resilient Khuzaits, they have a lot of troops, but in reality, they are too busy with the Empire to really care for us. I think it will be different when the Empire is destroyed, if I have the courage to continue.
The importance of companions is fundamental, their death can cause a real "crisis". Their skills sometimes bring a lot, economically, in terms of damage, etc. And sometimes it is very difficult to find a balance.
The game turns are a little clearer, I can see new wars coming better and I can prepare myself more easily, even if economically it is sometimes very difficult.
By having to strengthen the sturgians, the outcome of the game is less "written in advance". This time I did not see armies of 2000 Khuzaits coming to crush everyone.
Now the Sturgians hold Argoron, Myzea, Baltakland even though they lost Revyl, Omor and Varcheg, they've grown powerful enough to hope this game doesn't end with a "Battania VS Khuzaits" rivalry. Even the Aserai seem to take a piece of the pie. The Vlandians are doing fine. We will see at the end how it ends.