The most unit-efficient way to defend cities from AI ?

[Vitruvius]

Best defence is having an adequate military. No matter how many ai units you kill with your defence, a war will definitly slow you down and some other civ elsewhere will leap ahead of u. Preventing a war is the best defence.

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[lindsay40k]

It's nice to have a couple of mounted units around. They can keep running around no man's land, scoping out incoming threats and attacking exposed ranged or siege units before they come into the fray and force you to make tricky target priority decisions. They're not a front line sledgehammer, they're a flanking asset.

 

[phillipwyllie]

Any ranged unit garrisoned in your city supplemented by meat shields(melee units) to take out any enemy melee units within range of capturing your city. If you've researched flight GWB with the 2* +%33 against land units promotion will see off all but the hardiest units(ranged units are particularly susceptible to bombing). GWB can be upgraded to Bombers and then Stealth Bombers(which will kill anything).

 

[Novalia]

If this is emperor we're talking about just build walls.. Let the stupid AI melee units get close to city.. That means don't block the city with a unit.. Position your ranged units behind and to the side of the city.. Use a melee to protect your ranged. Garrison your city with a ranged unit. Pick off the siege units with your city attack and ranged attack. The AI will stupidly bang it's best melee unit against the walls.. Pick that off with your ranged behind the city.. One thing I try not to do is attack a unit in a tile they can pillage.. I'll attack something else.... Unless I can kill that one unit in one turn. But generally speaking the AI will make stupid mistakes.... Don't get in its way.

 

[civ54lyfe]

It's nice to have a couple of mounted units around. They can keep running around no man's land, scoping out incoming threats and attacking exposed ranged or siege units before they come into the fray and force you to make tricky target priority decisions. They're not a front line sledgehammer, they're a flanking asset.

this, ty. people like to down mounted units (if they aren't Keisheks or CA's) but if you think they're garbage and then are gifted normal HA's or Knights from a CS and use them for their mobility, you will find out that they save crucial time and preparation.