Well said!
Well said for someone who wants to lay waste to all before him. Why must you think of not the single cavalryman, but the cavalry as a whole?
Why do you think of yourself as the lone warrior? If infantry were in a group, they would be much safer from cavalry.
If a two-hander is swinging at you, hold up your shield, and let your teammate bash in his skull! It does not matter if you get the kill, only that you win, for the multiplier.
If an archer is shooting at you, and you have no shield, hide behind someone who does! Or ask a horseman to assist you while you distract the archer.
Cavalry can only bump into one or two people before being stopped, even without a pike.
When 10 archers get together, and focus their fire, Cavalry gets decimated. 10 two handers will tear through almost any defense. 10 crossbowmen will reduce armored men to scrap. 10 spearmen will keep anyone at bay, 10 1h swordsmen will swarm any foe.
Why must you think of only cavalry when they act as a group? Cavalry act together because you learn very early on, that a lone cav at the start of the battle is mincemeat. It is time for everyone else to learn this lesson, and act together if they want to win a battle.
You talk about cav ignoring the full picture, but it is Kesh who ignores it, and would be happy to see cavalry gone from the game, or limited to only 3 per team.
Cavalry is heavily dependent upon the map terrain and composition of the enemy force. In addition, a cavalryman is also heavily dependent upon his horse, a great expense. Cav is forced to spend less on armor and secondary weapons as he must spend all of it on his horse, maybe a shield, and lance, if he equips himself fully, he will quickly run out of money. If the horseman loses his horse he is usually swarmed and beaten to death, and if not, he may find himself inadequately equipped to fight on foot for someone at his level.
As cavalry becomes more popular, both teams will have similar numbers of cavalry, thus balancing it out. Having many of one type working together on a team will always defeat an opposing team without the correct counter or teamwork. This is also why many people are upset with the "banner balance" mechanic.
You might say "You can't balance this game depending upon people to work together!" but that is stupid, what about Strategus? Are there going to be two sets of rules for balance?