head to head
vs
Cossacks II: Napoleonic WarsvsMedieval II: Total War
Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Medieval II: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Cossacks II: Napoleonic WarsMedieval II: Total War
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 2
Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars leans harder on execution: unit control and micromanagement under pressure
Reads2 vs 1
Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars leans harder on reads: human opponents' strategy shifts somewhat predictable
Variance2 vs 3
Medieval II: Total War leans harder on variance: fog of war and event triggers hide some state
Optimization9 vs 9
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.