i think part of it was the companions.
In warband companions had roles, they could influence your rtr, they had a background, as in they would comment on area's that mean something to them, like near a town or villange. they had differing personalities, so some companions would get on and others would fight. you could promote them to lords, or use them in your towns/castles.
the ones in bannerlord are basically "insert random name and moniker" "random irrelevent backstory with no impact to the actual game" "no actual personality"