Warriors, Legions & Cannons

I'm developing a play style and would like some feedback. In almost every game:

I research HBR first and build horsemen. I don't build warriors. It just seems like the warrior isn't a very good investment. They're immediately obsolete. I would much rather have a horseman. Horsemen have the speed to harrass the AI - great for counter attacks - horseman armies can take secondary AI cities early in the game. And I would rather build archers for solid defense in my cities.

I also don't make much use of legions. For one thing they're slow. And I see the way that the AI throws wave after wave of them in futility against the archer armies defending my cities. It's a losing proposition. Why would I want to do that?

And then there's cannons. It just seems like every time I get to metalurgy, combustion is only one or two techs away. And it feels like my cannons are obsolete when tanks come on line.

This strategy or style of play might not work on deity. It probably wouldn't work in multi-player mode either. It works great in single player mode at the emperor difficulty (where I am currently).

You need at least 2 warriors to get the early barbs and huts.

Warriors are also vital to the smart German player.

Yeah, legions and cannons are pretty worthless, but warriors are important to get the early huts and villages.

I never use legion or cannon. Depending on who I am I might horse rush but I generally create two warriors for huts. I never use legion or cannon on any one player game even if I am French.