Question about minor towns and defending borders.

So I just got NTW, but I didn't get Empire because of the stuff I heard about it. Anyway am I supposed to garrison the minor towns? I don't mean the region capital. And which is better for warding off ai attack, garrisoning the region capital or placing your army on the border?

A shame that no one has responded to you old thing; allow me to try to shed some light on this topic:

Garrisoning minor towns, is it worth it?
Well, in what context? It all depends on your strategic situation; if an enemy army is marching inland and you need a couple of turns to build much needed reinforcements at the region's capital, it may be sound to garrison a smaller town -- granted that its (i) in the enemy army's way and (ii) your garrison's zone of control will allow you to either block a direct attack on the capital or force the main army into a battle where you can delay or thin them out. However, it might be smarter to keep your forces concentrated at the capital, for two important reasons: (a) Your capital will spawn you armed citizenry, and while their worth is debatable, they make for a highly expendable unit in a pinch, further more, any and all "regular" military units (that is, militia and up) will be able to deploy unique defensive fortifications. Granted that is, that they have been garrisoned for at least 1 full turn.

The option to delay, or entice a decisive engagement is purely in your hands, and to answer your question old bean, your decision must be based off of strategic considerations -- and the lay of the land.

Borders, or Garrison?
Again, context lad, context! If a region's borders have mountain passes, bridges/fords or roads surrounded by rough or impassible terrain, then by all means rush your forces to the border; the AI will do it in such instances, you will see and you would be wise to learn from their example.

My throat is indeed parched from all this talk of strategy, I shall retire to the parlor for a spot of gin, cheerio!

I don't usually garrison towns unless it is of strategic importance. Seeing as you've skipped Empire, basically your tax income derives from the wealth contributed by the towns. When an enemy army raids a town, it stops the flow of wealth from that town to that region. It would be much better to leave your army in the capital of the region than in one of the towns.

If there are only a few paths entering the region (for example the only way to get into the region is through a few bridges) it is easy to repel enemy attacks as they have to get past your armies at the borders. If you share a massive border with an enemy region it would definitely be best to garrison the capital.

I sometimes garrison some of my units in some towns with important buildings (e.g. colleges, trading ports), or upgrading their buildings, especially on the borders.