Most of my games go like this: I forward build a temple, get a few houses, bring in maybe 2-3 hersirs before I advance, depending on the food on the map. Then once I hit classical I put out two barracks and take raiding calvalry and throwing axeman and just keep taking those out. By that time my opponent usually knows, has advanced and tries to take me out. Every time they've tried to take my forward I've beaten them out.
This is where I have a problem. I get a big army and move on them, they come with their army. Mine is usually larger and I end up raping them replacing what I lost from nearby barracks. HERE'S THE PROBLEM. I don't know what to do. When I was up against an isis once they pulled their priests and other units back and when I tried to move in towers, priests, towncenter, and other stupid units would eat out my units. It wasn't so much their units as the tower and towncenter and I couldn't reach the priests because most of the time they were wedged somewhere hard. So I moved out, and then they had time to build up another army which defeats the whole purpose of me advancing early. Again, versus a loki norse, we advanced around the same time, he went for a towncenter and I started making units. He got his towncenter and a decent amount of units. I moved in, took out his units, but he had errected two towers and as I tried to attack his towncenter to take it out the towncenter and the towers ate away my units backed by the new units he was producing. Eventually I had to pull back...again. Next thing I know few min later he's swooped in with a full pop force and crushes my army and forward.
I always take out their military but I don't know how to use that to my advantage. Most of the time towers and towncenters hurt my units to much. By the way, I also continually produce hersirs after that and usually build a 3rd barracks when I can support it. How do I finish them off?