Ah, ok, I get what you mean.
Oddly, Stronghold is a game where I liked the AI - not because it was smart but because I like to build up and smash their castles. SH's AI was all about defense, imo - AI armies they'd send were all small and stupid, w/occasional larger waves after hours of play. heh
I haven't played TotalWar - I'm curious if they've improved the problem common in older RTS games where it's mostly about greatest numbers. Are they better about giving players other ways to defeat the AI opponents besides just amassing huge armies/special units and razing the enemy with them. Either through sneaking actions or politics, perhaps. And by sneaking, I don't mean AOE-like "here's four units, get them safely to the other side of the map" levels.