Which cavalry would be more effective; Alexanders Companion cavalry or heavy mounted knights from the 14th century?
I would have to lean towards the Companions, but perhaps not why you may think. The Heavy Knights would be far more effective in combat: all-around steel armor, steel weapons (including bludgeons), stronger and heavier horses, and stirrups clearly make the heavy knights a more formidable foe. However, I feel that the Companions would be more “effective” in the modern sense of warfare as a series of extended campaigns where cavalry-type units are represented by fast moving forces used to scout, exploit, and pursue enemy forces. The Companions were far more mobile as they did not wear heavy armor and weaponry. They required less specialized personnel to maintain, less food, and could move more quickly over much more varied types of terrain and more efficiently, making them ultimately more useful. Please consider, however, that this is in terms of a more modern and restricted use of the Companions. In their day they were used like tanks, not cavalry, just as the heavy knights were. So the
