Against some well-fortified factions, both in defense and attack, such as Haven, it might not work either. Their defense is high, they have dark magic, and their attack and defense are at their maximum. I think it's worth taking armored units against highly initiative-based knights... and an orc is unlikely to withstand such dark forces, and its own initiative will turn against it through berserk and mind control... it's not a given that if they reach first, they will win. Haven plays best with counterattacks...
Regarding the "Fury" skill, I probably agree with Avenger:
LE: horses and druids can effectively reduce fury, and blades are also effective... although...
TE: I'm not sure, but if their initiative is higher than that of the knights, then harpies might kill someone...
INFERNO: it's unlikely that you should be afraid of Inferno. An orc in 80% of cases will defeat a demon, unless it's a demon with dark magic and artificial gates + luck -> Nimues, etc.