What is the best country to play as on empire total war

Playing as France can be a bit of a challenge at times, but I'm playing as them and I have conquered most of Europe, the Americas and parts of India. France is disliked by many nations, though, so if you want a strong alliance system or good trades, I would not suggest France, Britain or Prussia (who gets into wars with Austria, Sweden and France a lot). I would not suggest the Maratha Confederacy either because they have an
extremely limited asortment of military units. If you're looking to dominate the world, I would suggest Britain, France, Prussia, or Spain. Russia is good for starters because it is surrounded by minor nations and your ally Poland-Lithuania, who can protect you from an invasion from almost any country (except Sweden). These are my suggestions. Hope this helped!