Definatley, CK. If you have a huge city that's really rebellious, just station all of the garisson outside of the city, it'll rebel, and come in, win, and enslave or exterminate the populace. Extremely reliable, you still have a lot of people, and it's already fully grown, so who cares? I know it seems a bit heartless, but you know, the price of defiance, etc.
And about the city destroying, etc. I've used that to great effect before. As the ere in bi, once, after I'd won, the saxons sent their hordes [all experienced, with upgrades] and took maybe five of my provinces. I wasn't about to stand for that. Of course, I had a godly economy, so I spent about 10 turns building up a huge army, from Africa, Italy, Anatolia, the middle east, etc. Basically my whole empire. Fortified frontier provinces. Anyway, I had about 10 quinquerimes, and had a fleet with two generals [one the faction heir and an excellent commander], 2 cataphracts, 4 hippo-toxatai, 2 comitatenses 1st cohorts, 4 plumbatarii, 2 eastern archers, 2 legio larcanii [sp?] and 2 heavy onagers. Anyway, sent them from Alexandria, to Rome, and eventually, around Spain, up the coast of France, eventually to the saxon capital, in Denmark. The awesome spy I brought infiltrated the large city easily, rank 3 or so assassin got lucky on a 40 or so % chance and killed the general. Besieged the capital, gates were open, but I let the heavy onagers go to town anyway, slaughtered the garrison with only the hippo-toxatai, cataphracts, and generals, with only minor casualties in the bodygaurds [foundries rock, btw]. Anyway, destroyed several buildings [i.e. with 100% damage] already, but destroyed them all, slaughtered the populace, and left the city en masse. Quickly claimed by rebels, by the time the saxons returned, I was long gone. brought the army back down, and conquered most of Spain with its momentum alone. Anyway, great example.
-The transition from an AOE3 sig to an M2TW sig is not an easy one.
-My computer's too old to run M2TW, so I have to subsist on pictures, the manual, and youtube!
-MTW and RTW are all I have now