I feel as though the HRE have a confused identity in whether they are a eco based, or aggro civ. Go full religious and you have a great eco, go full army and you can spam out some pretty beefy bois.
Each has a strong identity on its own, but they seem hyper isolated from each other compared to other civs. I could just be seeing it wrong, or it could be a result of a few mediocre landmarks, but thats just what I feel is causing such issues right now.
How do you feel about French being the most aggresive civ yet they have all the trader eco options?
At least HRE prelates can buff your army so their heavy religious identity is way more strong than the French, just to give an example.