How is Dark Messiah connected to Heroes of Might and Magic?

I know! Their skills are among the best in the game. For some reason, I preferred playing as Raileigh. It was just convenient to eliminate an entire squad with Faidaen before the battle even started. It was easiest to play as Faidaen because he goes second in the final mission... I think. So it wasn't that difficult, but it was tough playing as Godric because he has almost no magic, even though he goes first. The hardest was playing as Raileigh. He went last. His magic definitely helped me a lot. Earth Shock worked flawlessly.