no after these 2 days, it has become quite clear math wise.
the gold and upkeep nerf is too harsh, especially for nonfief clans and randomers, wich have to pay 2,5 (within or out of an fief, there is no discount).
there has to be some balance here, you can't both have an "hammer" on both upkeep and gold intake, will result is way fewer troops in order to afford for proper gear.
the incentive to take castles or cities is even lower now, it makes no econimical sense, since you can't even replenish their pop after taking it, resulting in destroying your chances of gold income even more.
different suggestions to improve this:
1. higher gold income.
2. lower upkeep.
3. troop into pop conversion.
4. being inside a fief upkeep discount.
5. higher max limit for troops before upkeep kicks in.
6. set capital increases pop/gold growth in chosen fief.
feel free to add more guys, but keep it simple, it has to be something that is actually possible to code with the current strat, in order to save time.
after this there is more time to actually code something new to add in and improve strat more.