I like to be able to make them at the saloon best, but failing that, my preference is to hire them from the HC or from church techs. The best are probably the Russian and British church mercs. They really complement the weaknesses of the civs who receive them. The Ports are nice, but they already have good RI (Besteiros is more like a perk than a needed complement) and the best Ranged Cav in the game, so they don't really need Tower and Sword riders.
Crunkatog on ESO
Bart331 balance suggestion: aztec: remove civ
Voltiguer: Ender, Sioux in 1.04 will be a top civ, no matter how many layers of Sioux goggles you put on
schildpad on Elephants: ...their mansabdar unit sucks so hard it looks like a black hole
Crunkatog on Steam.