Absolutely love Warband.
Currently my most played Steam Game at 190.8 hours total.
Mods are lots of fun for it, and even the default module is lots of fun.
I reccommend the Freelancer mod. It lets you play as a regular soldier. You find a Lord from any of the nations and ask to enlist in his army. As you do more fighting with him you gain experience and at the end of a week he will pay you and may offer you a promotion. In which case you get to choose your next place in that factions troop-tree. You don't move about on the map though. Your leader does and you watch. When he visits towns you can enter them and do whatever, and you join in as a troop in battles and sieges. If you die the battle continues and you can watch via a free-camera.
And if you dislike your boss you can lead a mutiny and maybe take some troops away from him, or you can desert and take the equipment and other such stuff.
Mind you, you have to be careful who you choose as a lord. Kings are a good choice, since they're rarely beaten in battle, but are boring since they wait at their castles a lot. Other lords are more likely to get captured/beaten, in which case you get fired and imprisoned for some time, but the lords are more active.
Multiplayer is always really really laggy for me, though. Whether I'm playing Native or Napoleonic Wars (which I prefer online). All other games and things have a decent connection but never M&B.
Also, am looking forward to Mount & Blade: Bannerlord, which is the sequel that is in production.
