Which castle do you like best in Heroes 2?

I first played Heroes at a friend's house; it was the fifth installment. I really enjoyed it and started playing through the campaigns, but then I saw everywhere that the third game was better, so I decided to try it. As a result, I started playing the first game, completed the entire campaign, and it seemed to me that even the first Heroes was better than the fifth in terms of atmosphere and strategy. Then I started playing the second game, completed Roland's campaign, and now I'm playing as Archibald. So, my gaming experience isn't extensive, but based on my observations, the best faction is the Barbarians (often there's a Fortress nearby on a hill, allowing for quick attack upgrades, and the Scout unit; it doesn't require as many resources to build all the creature dwellings as the "magical" factions, and it has two good archers). In second place is the Necropolis faction (but only if there are plenty of low-level neutral creatures around and the Necromancy skill is developed). You can win the entire map with just skeletons.