I think cavalry have alot to offer and sort of have a niche to themselves in terms of utility. For those who dislike the penalty they have for attacking cities, I think its very realistic in the sense that they should incur some sort of penalty. If you've ever played songhai or spain and used their UU; you'd know how big of an impact it is to not have that debuff promotion and how OP cavalry is. The main purpose for them is to support whether that's scouting or covering your flanks, in which case they're amazing. Its the difference between one-shotting units to take the tile or waiting out a turn to take them out and even then knowing the AI they'll get the benefit of a instant heal in a 'timely' manner. The same applies on the defensive end in the sense that covering your flanks prevents your own units getting flanked and its the difference between preserving the unit or losing it all together.
The one qualm I have w/ cavalry and esp. mounted UUs is that you can't keep the promotions (or lack of) from those UU when upgrading, which diminish their value. Unlike other UU's who actually get the keep their promotions (ie Minutemen, Jaguar warriors). But then again, I suppose balance would be an issue because if you managed to upgrade a conquistador to a tank without the city penalty debuff then that'd be pretty comparable to panzers (german UU) when attacking a city if not better.
The one qualm I have w/ cavalry and esp. mounted UUs is that you can't keep the promotions (or lack of) from those UU when upgrading, which diminish their value. Unlike other UU's who actually get the keep their promotions (ie Minutemen, Jaguar warriors). But then again, I suppose balance would be an issue because if you managed to upgrade a conquistador to a tank without the city penalty debuff then that'd be pretty comparable to panzers (german UU) when attacking a city if not better.
