I've been playing this mod a lot lately, and I came to understand something that I learned from back in Fire & Sword.

Pikes are by far the best polearm/spear weapon.

I say this not because spears and halberds suck, but because of the sheer deadliness that Pikes can bring compared to them.

Now, a single guy with a pike in the game isn't much of a threat, unless it's a super narrow choke point, but even just 6 to 8 guys with pikes can be an incredibly deadly and be able to hold back the enemy hordes.

And one of the best factions that gets access to pikes is surprisingly the Arcane Empre.

While I find their magic stuff a little lacking until the elite classes, they do have 3 classes in particular that work in very interesting ways And those are

The Triax Roadwarden
The Pentac Backliner
And the Nestorian Retainer

What makes these 3 classes in particular so special is that they can work as both infantry and ranged guy roled right into one.

The Triax Roadwarden can use Pikes along with Short Bows. And yes, while short bows aren't that great overall, they still get a ranged weapon while using a pike or polearm.

Though you might be able to use a long or war bow from another class. Haven't tried it.

The Pentac Backliner might be the best over all. They can get Sieges Crossbows and pikes, which might be the best combo.

Now, the Nestorian Retainer doesn't have pikes, but the has a good second, in the Empire Long Spear, with a length of 221, and they can get 2h hammers and swords, along with Siege Crossbows.

But really, a number of people working together with pikes can be incredibly effective. You guys should give it a try some time to really understand what I mean.

Edit

I just found out that the Turk Gunners can use pikes.