I think that might fall more under the hero system... on the other hand from the sounds of things such a unit could be modded in or added quite easily.  It would just take quite a while to build. 

I am very curious about how the sea will be handled.  If it is there at all (I very much hope it is... the sea is very important to societies at the tech level this game will be at), will you just build ships and put troops on it?  Or will the crew be inherant to the ship?  Or will the ship automatically have a crew, but you can put additional soldiers on it to increase its archery and boarding capabilities?

Upon re-reading the latest development diary it appears that you can indeed give them magic items.

I would love to be able to develop a cadre of elite guard that follows me around with magic weapons and armor.

Maybe so but I'm of the opinion that all enchanted items should come directly from the leader. The only exception to this would lore relics and captured items from another faction leader - which would of course be from his mana pool.

And why couldn't you recruit a wizard to do the same sort of stuff?  Or purchase items from a local wizardry shop?

Yes, we can!

But we probably would have to give the wizard some of our magic power which she then uses to enchant the weapons.

Exactly. This is the trade off the devs have been mentioning in the early previews; do you want a strong avatar who can step on to the battlefield and deal untold amounts of destruction, or do you want a weaker one that's used his/her power to buff up their army?

This entire 'trade-off' is made all the more juicier by the promise of having fully customized units. That way, you can specialize your entire faction to your own liking. Methinks this will be in the running for one of the grandest 4x games ever.

Bah, what kind of wizards are these that don't have their own power.  

My wizard I want to be represented as a statue!

Yep. You could equip them with magic swords, armor, etc.  It would be expensive but yea, the player can decide just how nasty they want their troops to be.

Channeler imbues some of his essence in having an enchanted armory. The enchanted armory produces +2 plate. The plate is then shipped to your various cities (players can control priority).  Player can create a unit and equip them with this magic plate.

It sounds more complicated than it is.  

How silly. There's only one priority.

Carry it to the capital, men! Let the forges of Ul'rathan burn brightly for our lord's grace!
The stem, flow and wave of row after row after row of the Mithril Knights will never cease, marching ever outwards towards glory or death, from the gates of heaven; our Ul'rathan! Our Salvation! Our Reich Empire!

If specific spells can be imbued into armory production lines, I'll need a frontal lobotomy to survive the wait.

Before I forget, on the subject of Unit Customisation, did I mention bears in this thread? Because if I didnt...

BEAR CAVALRY!

What? Bear Cavalry, Pegasus Knights - panzies next to my Driders!