Mount&Blade/Swadians

The Swadians are a powerful faction, with good crossbowmen and cavalry as well as fairly strong infantry.

The differences between the Swadians and Vaegirs are somewhat aesthetic; while each his its own individual strengths (Vaegir Marksmen fire much faster than Swadian Sharpshooters) there are also some weaknesses that balance this out.

Combat strategies
As one of the two original factions, the Swadians have a more developed troop tree than any faction other than the Vaegirs. Swadians boast accurate crossbowmen and durable knights, but the correct use of a varied party is still the key to victory.

Against ranged horsemen
I advise using Crossbowmen with a wall of dismounted man at arms/knights or preferably, footmen/infantry/ sergeants, as your knights will be hard pressed in catching up with a ranged horseman.

Against mixed forces
Against mixed forces? (Most enemy forces) use mixed forces yourself. Although you might like ranged troops providing fire, especially on cavalry, and later infantry, and your horsemen should work on the enemy archers. Ranged horsemen might be very usefull in this case.