This feature would be nice if the lords actually participated in battles.
The reason why I never sign up in mods which have the freelancer submod, is that you spend 20-30 in game days and mostly sit in a town. About as interesting as watching grass grow.
My idea of an actually fun freelancer version actually exists, and in The Last Days mod:
- if using M&B terms, you are basically a mercenary for a faction (not a lord, not awarded fiefs)
- you are mostly free to do as you want
- you get a reasonable weekly payment (depending on your rank, not on the number of troops you have)
- you can store your reserve soldiers in the faction capitol
- at character generation you get the basic gear (but in a less focused mod, you could get it when signing up)
- you get influence ("rank points") with the faction if you join their battles or sieges
- you get influence points if you do quests for the faction lords of faction guildmasters
- you get influence points if you win a battle around either their cities or if a lord is nearby and sees your triuph (not just enemy lords, for bandits too)
- when you collect influence points, you rise in rank, which means more payment for you
- you also get influence (and payment), if you hire recruits, train them up, and donate them to a faction patrol, lord or city, acting as a mercenary trainer of some sorts. Not pittance either, the difference between the cost a recruit and the "sale price" of a top tier unit is actually worth your time, not to mention strengthening your faction's lords and patrols.
- when you rise to certain ranks, you get special benefits. Eg. spend influence to ask patrols to follow you, command all troops in a battle (not just yours), give advice to the marshall, hire certain powerful companions.
- alternatively, you can spend influence on higher tier faction gear. (you don't get any for free except for the initial entry gear, but you can get everything, even unique items, like the Horn of Gondor.).
I think this method is much more fun than the "original" freelancer.
- you are never bored, because you are not tied to a feasting lord sitting in his castle
- but at the same time, you can play a footsoldier, if you follow a lord alone, and join his battles
- you don't get higher tier faction gear, you actually have to pay for them. (this means freelancer exploits involving signing up and deserting with gear don't work)
- it gives you nice, but not overpowered things (basic gear, ability to store reserves at capitol) at first, and if you are focusing on helping them, you can be a really powerful ally of the faction (giving tips to the marshall, or commanding a host bigger than their lords, or commanding their battles in a more efficient way than the AI)