Well my 2 pathfinders (upgraded to composite bowmen via ruins) had range and/or logistics long before turn 130. Part of the success of that was getting military tradition early. Once you get to Logistics you can earn 6 exp per turn attacking units or even 8 exp per turn attacking cities. You'll get Range and even March very quickly from there.
I actually took the NW AI down before I had researched construction. I simply took the 2 free upgraded comp bowmen, a few archers and a couple of pathfinders supported by the Honor GG and blitzed through without taking any real losses - except maybe 1 pathfinder &/or 1 archer.
I think Honor is pretty comparable to Liberty on this map - Liberty will probably give you a bigger army due to a slightly higher productivity but Honor will give you a stronger army so it probably nearly balances out.
Thing is too the extra Great Generals really can come in handy if you need to build a citadel if you are having a war on multiple fronts. Hence I tend to think Honor is more reliable in emergencies.
The culture from barbs is ok - it probably works out a bit less than what you get from Liberty but ultimately it helps you get through Honor which is what it was intended for. I found plenty of barb camps across the map. They were useful for citystate quests and in some places would provide a steady stream of culture to a nearby city.
So personally I favor Honor but that might just be for this map. This is the Shoshone and the start site has a tonne of wheat so you get a much stronger start then you would normally (i.e. free social policies, free pantheon (Sun God), free population etc....). With all those bonuses I don't place much value on Republic because the capital is so good already I don't think it's that essential - especially with every tile being a plain and having cattle and horses everywhere.
I see your point on the National Wonders - I actually had the sense that I was wasting my time with them - It really is pointless unlocking Philosophy and iron working. The NC will certainly shave some turns off machinery but you'll probably waste more turns researching philosophy. So already with that T155 victory I made some bad decisions that slowed the victory down - so really I could probably get it closer to T120 if I tried again.
Thing is too in my turn 155 victory I actually walked across to the East first and then turned back and finished off the south west. Probably not ideal but I was worried about that civ in the SW corner becoming a runaway. So that's another element to this strategy that is confusing is which AIs do you prioritise on destroying first.
