Yeah, your battles are quite interesting... As I understand it, you're all either neighbors or just from the same city? It's more objective on one hand, but it still creates a feeling of interest only in one side, and usually that side wins... I should try it sometime. And what GSC maps are you using?
Of course, we're all from the same city; some of us have known each other since childhood, and some we met at a gaming club. A couple of people learned about our mini-Heroes clan and asked to join. We've been friends for two years now, all thanks to Heroes!
You're wrong about "still, still." I actually love Necromancers, and Sinister is my favorite hero. It just so happens that I'm playing as Dwarves more often now. But now I understand that each race is interesting and strong in its own way. I really enjoy developing various tactics for development and combat in the endgame!
By the way, check out one of my posts in this thread; there's an interesting endgame save for Helmar vs. Wingael.
And regarding playing against myself, I actually try to play better as the opponent!
We used to play on almost all maps with 4 races. Then, when we decided to play to determine the strongest, we came to the conclusion that "Lands of Exile" is the best. We added a time limit for development, and each player develops on their own level: you can play longer without turn-based mode, there are many artifacts, two Utopias, additional computers that interfere with development, and interesting locations. All of this contributed to choosing this map!