Slitherine

Mounting fighting. I guess you need alot of peltasts if anything? Im sure cavalry have no use? Im having much trouble winning even when i outnumber the enemy and have a skilled general leading my army

Civil wars a good thing? easy to battle and gives the population some victories so they stay loyal? I definitely see no down side to a quick, little civil war

Cavalry can have uses, especially the rare provincial ones with mountainmen perk. While it may not benefit from the flanking green slots you can see in plains or hills, the defender will benefit from a huge defensive perk in mountains; if you're on offense and despite their low combat abilities, skirmishers with their ranged attacks do have quite a lot of value to remove as much effectiveness as possible from the few slots available, but that's where cavalry perks (skirmishing & evading) can save your troops should the dices be in favor of your opponent to try to force a draw instead of being routed, so you may attempt another battle (thinking of FoG:E battle resolution here, not exporting battles).

Simply keep in mind light/medium cavalry have weak combat abilities, not even matching medium infantry. I rarely bother with medium cavalry unless it has some ranged attack, since otherwise it doesn't match the infantry while the light version guarantees ranged attacks with a lower cost in maintenance, putting a lot less strain on my resources and being easier to replace against medium cav (on top of their higher mobility making it even easier to send fresh troops back to the front).

As for civil wars, it's almost always a disaster that sets you back several turns (alongside the negative effects from old/decadent governments) in your development :) It's fine in early development when you have very few territories to call your own and if you're not struggling with different ethnicities; if you do end up old/decadent later on though, even if it can be a quick solution to all the downsides the status brings, be ready to lose several regions in the process and have revolting armies invade whatever remains of your regions!

Ill flgure something out. Barbarian states should fall quite easily regardless who is the player. I just have to get the trick right. Youre not in favor of civil wars? The rebel factions fall so easily, and its a huge boost of loyalty even in my home territory