Horse Archers, Sentry promotion or +1 :food: for each stable?

Playing as Darius, aiming at Guilds (researching Machinery), I choose 11 HAs.

+1 visibility seems stupid. You need only a couple of those units. But the +1 :food: in 11 cities ...

Did I make the wrong decision?

I call that a good decision. The effects are more permanent than a bonus to units that will go away.

I always choose the +1:food: because you get that bonus in stables of new cities too, up until the expiration date of the event which is when you discover NATIONALISM or PRINTING_PRESS or EDUCATION or GUNPOWDER or ASTRONOMY.

By the way. Mehmed and Suryavarman just attacked me, so I'm gonna need those HAs.

By the way. Mehmed and Suryavarman just attacked me, so I'm gonna need those HAs.

That's usually my motivation too. I usually look long and hard at the food bonus, but the last time I got this quest, the horns of war that had just sounded at the start of the turn when I finished the quest were still echoing in my ears...

I'm sure every thoughtful person will agree that the best decision is the one that makes the game continue. Put another way, it's hard to use that food when all of your cities are piles of rubble under foreign domination.

Only time I've completed the quest I chose the free HA for similar reasons. The +1 food is the 1 I'd take if not at war unless playing someone like Hannibal or Cyrus where I'd have a lot of cavalry who'd benefit.

I always choose the +1:food: because you get that bonus in stables of new cities too, up until the expiration date of the event which is when you discover NATIONALISM or PRINTING_PRESS or EDUCATION or GUNPOWDER or ASTRONOMY.
That's just when the event expires. The Food bonus lasts until the end of the game, and you can keep building Stables until Advanced Flight, a good long time.

If you're playing your game right, 11 Horse Archers are a pittance unworthy of consideration. You should have sufficient defenders by then.