Nice to see you posting again, allenskd.
I expect to have more time in the weeks ahead so I can finally get back to playing games more regularly again as well as doing more guides.
Mount and Blade is pretty good, once you get the hang of it. Currently I have an army of 30-60 soldiers, it varies a bit as I am also training troops for my castle. I also have a hard time maintaining my army at the ideal capacity since I am constantly fighting to defend the kingdom I have sword allegiance to.
Booman, you have to pick your battles early on. Fight smaller bands until you can promote troops, then move on to stronger bands bandits and the like.