Get a Heavy Lance and develop some tricks and good timing and you can take on most of the infantry while they are aware. Since the sweetspot fix of one handed polestab (hoplites and lancers) the Heavy Lance doesn't glance at all and you can use every bit of it's reach. You are only forced to backstab if you're bad. In that case just take a normal lance or become slasher cav for higher damage output.
And thats a problem I have with it aswell, I don't want to use the heavy lance because it doesn't suit my playstyle - it is too slow to my liking. It doesn't give me the flexibilty I like with the regular Lance, its stab is extremely slow and you have to release very early in the situation for it to work its length.
I like to play very offensively and the heavy lance doesn't provide me with the ability to swing out a quick stab, its still a weapon with which you need to plan your move seconds ahead, i cant just turn 90 degrees and go for the enemy 6meters away (it takes planning, lol. But im not a controlled player, im an unbalanced violent fool
)
Though this is just a personal matter and it is a bit biased because the weapon has its obvious pro's over the lance and I nerf myself by refusing to use it but I do stand by my point that I should be able to do OK (its not that I do extremely bad though) with the regular lance.