If I outnumber my enemies by a mile and have top tier cavalry while the enemy are some low tier bandits and looters, I expect a swift clean victory. My main problem with the game is the rather non-functional 'auto-resolve' battle calculator.
I'm currently playing Floris and kicking some Nord asses in the name of Butterking Harold of Swadia! :)
I got M&B from when it was for free on GOG a few weeks ago and bought Warband almost immediately, the game is great.