It took me a while but nowadays I really enjoy The African Royals.
It’s the first expansion since TAD that really sets things apart with proper civilizations.
Their influence/livestock mechanics are cool and both Hausa and Ethiopia are unique enough to be different and similar enough to belong to the same faction. It feels like they were nicely designed, the issue is the gameplay balance - as usual.
(I still think most of the units need to be tweaked into being more “normal” instead of being above equivalent units or holding special perks everytime).