Yeah I was using this one in the past:
https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/4920/
Yes agents block much more effectively, my only issue is when you start out as a Level 1 Goober this make it extremely difficult to land hits in Practice Matches. I'm not sure how much concern there should be for new players at this point, but if I had no Mount & Blade experience could be really frustrating.Though I'm still doing okay in Tournaments with a bit of combat skill now. Overall I think the bigger emphasis on blocking has improved mass combat a lot. Having superior numbers matters a lot more now, since even Recruits won't just let themselves get hit freely. No more losing 10-15 Recruits to a few Looters.
Formation targeting is nice, though a little clunky, but better than not having it. Means I can probably consider playing without RTS Camera for once.
Yes it will be a slight improvement over the Weather Mod, since it applies to the map as well. Though strangely 1-2 times it's been "raining" the ground is just wet and there's no actual rain in the scene. They need to add Dust Storms, and I hope I see some Blizzard and Heavy Rain conditions too.
Yeah something like Crusader Kings 3 does the game stage scaling pretty well.
Honestly Bannerlord's endgame as King/Emperor needs to be less about leading endless sieges, and more about directing your armies and keeping your vassals in line. IMO Bannerlord's endgame needs these 3 features:
1. Actual Diplomacy: This means truces, non-aggression pacts, and the ability to form alliances. Would go a long way to make forming a Kingdom a realistic goal; without abusing certain game mechanics so much. This whole War On/Off crap as "Diplomacy" needs to stop. Also if you take a fief you should be forced to declare a Kingdom.
2. Kingdom Management: How about the ability to direct Armies to attack/defend certain targets at the cost of Influence? Decisions need to be more impactful too in terms of Clan Relations. There should be Factions within Kingdoms that sort of inherently form based on who gets what fiefs, etc. Policies should also play into the Faction element with certain Clans liking/disliking various Policies. Honestly most Policies should be redone since a lot don't work well or are garbage anyway. Maybe make them favored on Traits?
3. Civil Wars: If a Kingdom is getting too big it should be very prone to splitting in two. This would have been a better way of dealing with snowballing, rather then explicitly making A.I. "dumb" when they are doing too well. It also seems odd that a game that features a Civil War between the Empire, has no such mechanics built-in if say the Aserai, Vlandians, or Khuzaits borders expand a great deal.
IMO conquering the entire map should be a nigh impossible task. Forming a relatively independent & stable Kingdom should be the true goal of the game.
Also would like to see Retreating/Surrendering be more viable options. The whole "fight to the death!" really isn't in-keeping with how most Medieval combat played out from what little I know. Losing an entire Warband/Army should only happen as result of a major F'ck Up.