I actually believe the opposite is true with the exception of the GUI which I think just generally lacks spirit…
Each civilization has strengths and weaknesses and plays much differently from the others. At this point, the civilizations have character, even if you believe their units do not. They even “command respect” or as I would say they cause the enemy to play differently to avoid getting dominated by them, e.g.:
Abbasid - Camel archer, reduces power of enemy cav, typically people avoid playing too many horsies vs Abbasid because of this.
Chinese - Nest of Bees, good vs basically all things living, stubborn players who go infantry vs nest lose without springald support
Dehli - Elephantos with animation cancelling are ridiculous. Besides that, they have the scholar which makes Dehli one of the more unique civs. It’s extremely cost effective over the course of the game (to the point where it’s actually the best eco civ if you go for all the upgrades) which just forces the enemy to generally respect them.
English - Longbow, the best unit in the game in feudal age. Their attack upgrade gives a 40% advantage over enemy archers lmao Throughout the game
French - Second strongest feudal age unit that turns into the strongest castle age unit. Forces enemy to build spears early and delays their eco while the French have a vill advantage
HRE - The Prelate is really badass when it comes to eco advantage. You get 40% more villagers basically the whole game, and on top of that you get 900 gold a minute pretty much guaranteed in team games, which equates to an additional 23 or so villagers… Depending on how you build, this could be an additional 20-50% economy bonus!
Mongols - Mangudai, forces enemy into their base so their eco isn’t wrecked, and to build archers
Rus - Horse Archer, Streltzy, springald upgrade, amazing ranged strength in castle and imperial age