Well, i mostly a mix of a politician and an entrepreneur rather than a soldier. I do still fight my battles though. In general, i'm a skirmisher since my main weapon is a crossbow(i really enjoy the feeling of seeing my enemies as prey i'm about to hunt rather than enemies whom i should slaughter)and a throwing weapon or a long spear/lance. I'm fairly good with ranged weapons but somehow struggle with melee weapons lol. I also tend to use light armour for lower weight so i could move faster since i fight on my foot.
My battle tactics is therefore isn't much different with my fighting style. For my troops it's mostly 60% elite archers, 30% strong infantry and 20% cavalry. My main offensive force is my ranged units. I usually tell my troops to stand ground and stand close until the enemies got closer to the range where my archers can effectively kill them and then i will command the infantry to charge to distract enemy's archers as well to hack their cavalry out of their horses(this is why i specifically mention "strong" infantry). I don't use my cavalry unit as an artillery so they are mainly to pursue running enemies(they are just too expensive to be put to charge as my main force considering the risk).
To rise to power i do use claimants too as my ticket to get into the deeper side of a realm(it's far easier to convince the lords to join the "right" ruler rather than to join a new ruler(me)). At first step i will usually join the faction i'm about to take over in order to build relationship with fellow lords and to gain supports of the peasants(i like to help the villagers. It's really great when you are in a middle of a hard war and your people is already trained to fight when you recruit them). But before i join a faction i spend my time reading newspaper, learning about the current condition of the factions and rescuing captured lords from the prison. I usually join a faction whom in war with another expanding faction. Like once the Rhodoks took Dhirim, Uxhal and Suno from the Swadians and then the Nords declare war on them. I quickly join the Nords because i knew those cities which just have been conquered by the Rhodoks are weakly defended and as soon as my oath is accepted i besiege the richest one yet weakly defended town with my already trained army and voila!, i got my first town with no difficulty. Once i have acquired my new prosperous fief i don't just sit in my hall and watch things happen. I'm a sort of a workaholic during this moment so i got myself out reporting to the marshall, suggest a course of action, saving other lords ass, asking for jobs to the guild master, freeing villages from bandits, winning tournaments, help my liege and the other lords to finish their tasks or to rescue their imprisoned family member, trading, selling loots and many other things. Unlike you however, i usually assist a faction to grow their power depending on the situation or the king's personality. It is good if during a war my faction could conquer many fiefs in which i could support lords with high renown and at least already have a town or a castle to gain more fiefs or to support their choice; all under the purpose of familiarizing themselves with me so it'll be easier to convince them to betray their previous liege to join me. Well, that's the point actually, to have a higher relationship with the lords than them with their liege. The thing is, lords don't always win battles and whenever they got their ass kicked or captured they would dislike their lieges more while my rel with them is increasing. Kings can get insecure too sometimes and indict some of the lords away for unfair reasons which makes him look worse among his vassals. So i kind of like it when my liege become greedy and declare war way too often as it'll make the politics of the realm looks more visible to me and if he doesn't get greedy i would just launch a provocation. It would be better if the kingdom is the strongest faction since i have known the lords, i know their fighting style, i know how to defeat them yet they are so rich but fragile. This is when i release my oath to my liege and let him own my fiefs so i can quit peacefully. But i didn't just let my lands gone. I keep an eye to whom would be the next owner as i only garrison my fiefs with the best quality troops(i'll explain why later). If the next owner is a friend of mine, it's good. If it isn't i will befriend him then. Then i will decide to help the claimant of the faction. The first lords i will persuade to join me is the new owner of my once owned fiefs so i can revoke it from him and take my troops out of the garrison and then getting ready for a bloody civil war(i don't always use them to fight though. My intention is simply to scare my enemies with the quality and the size of troops i take around with me. But if there should be a fight i would be more than ready to. At this point it would mostly be diplomatic process aiming to persuade lords with the highest renown and most fiefs. During this process, i would not let the claimant to gain any power so he would not be a problem in the future. He would not own any fief nor would he be able to recruit troops. All he would ever have is well, me. It would not be too hard to attempt a succesful rebellion at this point and after i have couped the previous liege, i would coup him too, the new but powerless king. He might hate me as much he want but he would not be able to bring me down and it would not be so hard for me to convince the lords to join me, the new, popular and powerful king rather than to serve a powerless, landless liege with no income nor troops. Then my new kingdom would not have to start from zero. Instead, it start out as a superpower, the strongest kingdom in Calradia. That's one of my play styles.
Regarding economy, i mostly rely on selling loots, robbing bandits and trading. I don't usualy buy lands for a productive enterprise early in the game because all these wars would make my inventsment not worth it. I mean, if i can own the northern Calradia from Yalen to Wercheg, my enterprise can consistently provide me 1000-2000 denars of profit a week and if i have multiple enterprise in multiple towns i can gain as much as 5000-7000 denars a week. Trades and caravans will be more stable and organized too under one banner in which i can make as much as 7000-20000 denars of profit a day(depending on the stocks and items though).
Regarding factions, well, factions i particularly aim to gain control over is the Rhodoks and the Nords. Those Rhodokian lands are so goddamn rich you can easily live in prosperity once you own them. Nords is also rich although not as stable but their troops is what i'm wanting for to expand further as they just great in sieges. Rhodoks army are great, but with the Nords they would become deadly(although if i had to choose one i would prefer Rhodokian soldiers). I find that if you can conquer the Rhodoks and the Nords early in your career as a king it would be easier for you to conquer the rest of Calradia. On the other hand, you would have a hard time if your kingdom is centered in Vaegir's territory and much harder in Khergit lands.
Character's background, well, my father is a poor noble. Although he was once a warrior whom quit the army to be a thief due to his dissapointment to the realm and then he got tired being an outlaw and survive as a hunter until he had enough money to finally become a merchant. I don't always get along well with him so i spend my adolescence in the street with those sea raiders although i grew up to be a squire with a legendary lust for money and power.
Companions, i don't care about them. Some other players take them as friends but they are nothing but employees for me due to their tendency to leave the party for a reason as silly as not feeling good anymore. Lol. I only use them to gain right to rule. After i have a good amount of RtR i will fire them all. Well all except maybe Ymira. Those battles are tiring, i'm sure you understand, and i need a personal entertainment too when my wife is far away from me, you know what i mean.
Skills, well, depends on the the circumstances more than my personal preference actually.
