warring question

I have been on a kick lately - pangea map, China, trying to see how quickly I can go domination. I get to cho-ku-nos (hopefully with 3 founded decent location cities), upgrade my archers, and go. Then I start building catapults/trebuchets to upgrade to artillery for later conquest.

As always, the big problem is happiness. As you start taking cities/AIs, trading partners dwindle, no matter how much you work on diplomacy. By then I am at the lead, or close, in tech, and 2-4 in military.

I have been taking Liberty, for the free settler, worker, and other assorted goodies (that free GS is nice). Then I go for either parts of trad (early honor really doesn't do much) until I can get rationalism/right side of commerce (happiness).

Would I be better going honor rather than liberty? Military might is not the issue as much as happiness.

Thoughts???

Honor is fun, I like honor for warring because of the extra xp, upgrade discounts and the finisher gets you a ton of money later in the game but I think liberty is stronger overall for warmongering. Better happiness in the long term, I miss the days when happiness was better in honor. Representation should net you one or two more policies/tenants over the course of the game, you will have a large empire and its effects are noticeable. Fast workers are a huge boost for warmongers even though the free worker is absolutely irrelevant for an early warmonger because they can steal them. Republic will help you kick out archers but warrior code won't.

Wait, you've got the G&K tag up there. Honor was better pre-BNW when it had more happiness than the other trees. If you're not getting happiness from religion or merc CSs it could be a pretty good option because it's better in the one commodity that matters most to warmongers

I'm abusing the merc CSs as best possible. Unfortunately I had Celts etc., so got beaten to reigions.

Again, I am getting decent upgrading, but until I can hit protectionism, happiness is an issue.
I will give honor a shot next time. Thnx.