I have taken it to the point where I kill all the male leaders of a faction, beat the remaining female leaders, release them and they come back in 5 or 6 game days with 100+ troops, pretty much evenly distributed.
After awhile beating all but a few of the enemy faction they can no longer resent a real threat.
I also create as many parties as possible, letting my companions hunt enemy armies and looters. We need more control over them, give them marching orders, etc.
Anyone else notice the perq of +1 companion for every companion assigned as Governors is bugged and not working properly?