I agree with the speed of the game being very strange. I feel like the cities are not fortified enough, as they are constantly changing hands on a whim. Troops upgrade very slowly. Bannerlord feels a lot more like Viking Conquest, which in my mind was supposed to be the hardcore version of the game. Parties move slowly too, especially the player. I've had 60+ armies outrun my group of 8 with 5 horses, setting me back over and over again. These of course were parties from a minor faction that I am unable to make peace with and are preventing me from joining a kingdom.
There's also WAY too much loading. Do I really need to go back to the world map after talking to the enemy party leader to choose my next course of action? Do I need to load in the entire town just to talk to one merchant there? I had hoped this HD reskin of Warband would at least provide with a smoother, more immersive and accessible experience but it is actually far rougher just playing.
The lack of quests, amount of game breaking bugs (do NOT take 'Army of Poachers' quest!), lack of information and amount of loading are pretty disappointing. Obviously this game is early access, but I'm just baffled by how rough it is after 8 years. I think TaleWorlds was trying too hard to go AAA when they obviously don't have the experience or resources needed to do so.