Ranged counters horse archers. The counter to foot ranged is not more foot ranged. Now I know I get flamed every time I spew the truth, but get a shield and more importantly get a team. One shielder by himself can usually scatter ranged, a group of them can massacre your famous archer nests/groups. Yes, I say this with a straight face because I watch people like Matey get into the middle of a group of archers and take half of them down before they even notice. I've seen Gmno do the same without a shield as well.
You want to stop getting killed by something, figure out how and then implement it. It is a lot more effective and quicker than whining. Lots of HA's this season? Pick up throwing your next gen, 1 hvy throwing axe will usually kill their horse or scare them off. Lots of archers? Take extra points in shield. Yeah only frontal coverage, but last I checked giving your back to any enemy was a bad idea so that does not just apply to archers. (Hint, use your surroundings) Lots of shielders? Sidearm axe. etc. Whine does not counter anything.