I find the Government 4 strange

[Gryphon Templar]

After description the country is autonomous and it becomes an Allied. But how does that work if you conquered it by force? "I have conquered you. Now we are allies!"? Sounds to me stupid

[Boriak]

That's what Philip of Macedon did when he defeated the allied Greek city states at Chaeronea. It's what Athens and Sparta did to their allies during the Peloponessian War. It's how Rome built her empire; her Italic allies rebelled on her when Hannibal came along and were later subdued by force, but were allies afterwards. And it's how Russia built her Soviet Union. "I'm your best friend, as long as you do what I say. Otherwise, I'm your worst nightmare."

[Ryoga84]

Gov4 mean that the region, more than an allied state, is a puppet state.
In some ways a thing included in the RTW diplomatic system, but usually it don't have great effects...

As Borlak said, this is how Rome historically built her empire. For example, until the middle Empire (I don't recall the exact date, sorry), the eastern borders of the Roman territory were made up almost entirely of "allied states", little puppet states which territories and rulers were entirely subjected to the Roman will (frequently messed up by the roman rulers).

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

Exactly. And no puppet likes being openly called a puppet... 'ally' is a much less demeaning term, and it gives the puppet state's people the illusion of independence even though there may be very little substance, particularly when it comes to foreign policy and warmaking.

[Hummer]

There are 2 very good things about the Type 4 government.

1st - Regional MIC's.

You can build the top level of regional MIC's. This brings you an entire different flavour to your troops no matter what nation you play as because generally it means you can recruit troops that are not your typical culture/identity and make your armies very diverse.

2nd - Loyalty.

You can quell loyalty very fast in a newly conquered city that is being difficult. For example you might want to move your army out of the city to continue the war effort but you have to leave some troops behind to garrison it to keep the loyalty of the city so it won't rebel. The solution is the Type 4 government and the Client Ruler. In 4 turns, you can solve the loyalty issue because Client rulers have such a positive influence on loyalty.

Construct Military Gov - 1 turn
Construct Type 4 gov - 1 turn
Recruit allied general - 1 turn
Wait 1 turn so your recruited general can be designated a client ruler.

This will give a minimum of a 40% loyalty boost to the city. This is especially useful in cities with large populations.

I like how it works in the game with Family Members causing unrest. This is a form of a Vassal but as mentioned above, the vassal system never works properly in the RTW engine. So this gives a role playing feel of having a vassal but yet it allows you to completely control the province as use it as you wish.

[yuezhi]

Far better than a protectorate since diplomacy sucks.