Have you tried the palatine settlements card in age II? it´s very good, it saves you about 1200 wood for 200 pop and even more if your houses got destroyed.
But yeah, i kinda agree, i mean, while germany is my second favorite civ in the entire game, and french is probably my least favorite (just because they were the most OP in vanilla and now are still a little OP), i do think they could use some modifications, i´ve been doing something actually for germany, it seems to me that settler wagons did not get too much love hahha i mean they cost more than 2 vills, are the same speed so they are worst for herding and other stuff, and have a very strict creation limit, i always though of some buffs to them, also the melee combat cards for dopps and pikemen i think they should be for dopps and skirms and that´s it, buff some age IV cards that are not entirely worth it and that could make uhlans better in late game, and war wagons could use a small buff as well, but anyway, i give my specific thoughts in another post heheh
oof, thats assuming i have a shipment to send as germany, holy hannah those things are so slow as germany
In the early-mid game they are pretty great for their cost, but in the late game i would say they are not bad at all, but definitely they get a little behind, because as you say, they have actually 5 upgrades (with the speed upgrade) and still are a bit underwhelming, and also because they are a unique unit, a royal guard unit wich is supposed to be one main thing of germany and because they are supposed to be pretty strong. That´s why i´ve thinking how they can be buffed and i thought of several things depending on the community opinion wich are not too different, just some small changes, but maybe for another post 
Yeahh! i´m just waiting whatever it takes to see germany buffs, agree 100% 
I dislike incas. I feel like they have too many cards that you need but can’t fit no matter how you turn your deck.
For the same matter I like dutch were everything just fits nicely.
It is a bit harder since the patch because you now need to fit 2 villager shipments in and the upgrades that got moved to age 2.
Haha,
My Fav are: India, Japan , Dutch.
But I certainly expected that India might be one of the least favorite ones too.
As it is the least played civ (the fact I like), and being the most unique civ of the game.
They lack late game prowess and have many balance issues though.
As for least Favorite:
Iro,
Haussa (just coz they need more balance changes)
Aztec
(and Japan a lil bit)
Fav: Hausa, Inca, Japanese, Ethiopians, Ottomans, Dutch
Least I like: Germans, Spain
Least: British, why due the lack of diversity, they have as uniques longbow and redcoats, but they really don’t stand out visually (redcoats).
So at least Lakota and Haudenosanuee have unique visuals and units, even if their economy balance isn’t great.
Dutch and Portuguese those 5 are the oned I least use being British the least I use.
(Altought I know several Euro have the same issue).
I really like Aztecs if you have played Aoe2 when 3 came was great to see a full roster unique to them.
redcoats are just a guard unit, their unique units is longbows and rockets.
IMO Britain should replace their monitor with a rocket ship.
USA. Just an unnecessary faction, released only for money and breaking the existing rules of the game, according to which a separate revolution mechanic was created for this type of nation. It is a bad precedent, and there may be more similar factions in the future (like Brazil etc), which would completely destroy the sense of the mechanics of the revolution.
I think I have an affinity with broken things, for those the Aztecs and Russians are my favorites just because they are challenging.
I don’t like the Haud, they are complicated to use and have one of the worst eco in late game. Still, they have some pretty good rush options but I don’t know how players manage to use them.
spain: simply bad civ design, useless units, very low economy and boring monotony tactics
I’ve always hated Dutch, going back to 2005. Least favorite right now would be USA and Hausa.
There are a lot of threads on this forum about hating the Japanese civilization. Despite constant nerfs over the past decade or so, it has still never been balanced. You can reference one of those threads though, no need to go into it, suffice to say it seems like Japan might be the most hated. I would prefer to just quit the game instead of playing vs Japan even though I know that is bad, hey its my time and the time of my opponent, no need to waste both of our time.
French,
Dont like the civ and villagers.
Just dont feel fun or OP
The 3 Asian civs. They are full of stereotypes.
The wonder mechanic is weird since those palace, temple and landmarks should be in the homeland instead of in the new world.
The monasteries should not be the buildings of outlaws and mercenaries.
The monks should not play the role of the town leader and explorer.
The Japanese explorers had explored the north lands like modern Hokkaido and Sakhalin.
The Chinese caravan leaders had passed through dangerous merchant paths like the Tea Horse Road with their private armed forces like the escort bureau.
The Indians had the Zamindar.
All these above could be the Asian explorers and town leader indeed, but why monks?
Perhaps they wanna give the Lakota an opponent, like the relation among Britons, french and Iroquois.