Funnilly enough, I kind of started to make similar threads, as you may have noticed if you scroll down. What I had said were my top 5 monk civilizations were the Spanish, Burmese, Aztecs, Portuguese and Chinese, but in hindsight, I am not really proud of that list. I am not actually a very experienced monk player, and by my own admission I am NOT a authority on discussing monk tactics. I probably should bave put Turks on the place of the Chinese, maaaybe a bit higher, because on the occasion I for whatever reason kind of overestimated their missing techs. Similarly, on top 5 cavalry civilizations, I originally did it as Persians/Burmese/Berbers/Magyar/Huns, but I later decided to change it to Berbers/Magyars/Huns/Saracens/Turks because Persian and Burmese cavalry is really only particularly good on team games
My top 5 Infantry were Goths, Incas, Japanese, Slavs and Teutons, and my top 5 Archer civilizations were Italians, Mayans, Spanish, Ethiopians and Portuguese( Although I was going by a somewhat loose definition of "archer" there. Essentially, if it benefits from archer armor upgrades, I was counting it as a archer XD. ). There was some discussioin, but I still stand by those picks. If nothing else, they all really fit my plaiyng style XD. Honestly, each of the question you asked seemed like it would ask for a thread all of its own, but I will try to give the short awnser for each of then:
Top 5 Siege civilizations: Celts( A LOT of raw power with their siege. They only lack Bombard Cannons, but their Siege Onagers can usually be used to counter enemy siege anyway because... Well, because their siege is just that good ), Ethiopians( Only civilization with all Siege Workshop units fully uograded, and Torsion Engines really improves the efficiency of siege against units ), Khmer( A underrated civilization. I am part of the rare group which prefers Scorpions over Onagers, and the Khmer scorpions rival the Celts. ), Saracens( In my humble opinion, the Mameluke is probably the best Siege Onager support one could ask for ) and Koreans( They MIGHT have been higher if they had their old team bonus rather then their current one... But they dont, so, screw it. )
Top 5 Naval civilizations: Portuguese( They are one of those ellusive civilizations whose navy is good from the Feudal Age to the Imperial Age, even if they arent as good at early rushes as most others on this list. Oh, and Caravels are pretty awesome as one of the few ways to deal with massed Galleys without just triyng to use more massed Galleys.. )/Vikings( I still think that 30% discount more then makes up for the lack of Fire Galleys. )/Saracens( Other then having top notch Galleys, and we all know how important that is, I find their extra space to transport ships to be a very underrated bonus that can make your life on water maps quite easier by letting you use up your population space more efficiently ), Italians( Their bonus is neat, but honestly it only -Truly-Shines on the early Imperial Age, where you have several naval technologies avaliable to you... Perhaps the most important one of which being, Shipwright. They are amongst the few civilizations to have both Shipwright, and bonuses which directly and specifically affect their navy ), and Byzantines( This one is a bit map-dependent, though... I was indecise between then and one of those civilizations that get economical bonuses to help their navy, but almost all of then lack some kind of important upgrade to their navy, where the Byzantines get everything their navy needs ).
Top 5 defensive civillizations: Byzantines( Their building bonus is really strong and straighforward, and I consider their cheaper trash to also be a defensive bonus as it lets you counter raids more cost-efficiently. )/Teutons( Although their bonuses are more gimmicky then the Byzantine bonuses, they are still potentially very powerfull )/Mayans( Never underestimate those 50% cheaper walls... And I know, the lack of Bombard Tower and Arrowslits SEEMS like a pain, but it is not-That-Bad. It only becomes a problem by the Imperial Age, and most players prefer castles anyway )/Spanish( Or those 30% faster builders... )/Koreans. You may notice, I prioritize civilizations who can set up their defenses quickly over civilization whose defenses are good on the late game( Even if the Mayans and MAAAAYBE Teutons are the only one whose defenses could be stated to be "below average" on the late game ).
Top 5 economical civilizations( For sake of hypothesis, I will assume that, by "economical", you mean civilizations that are very good at booming. So, although I personally consider the Portguese, for a example, to have the best economy in the late Imperial Age, I wont put then on the list as they arent particularly fast to get there
): Malay( Although I am not sure of to what extent is it a good idea to boom as a civilization whose Imperial Age is... Not the best, the fact of the matter is: The Malay can pull a mean Fast Castle strategy, and you will find yourself not even caring about the techs you lack if you go with that. )/Indians( Having both a fast boom to the Castle or even Imperial age, as well as still keeping a good economy upon reaching the Imperial Age ) Aztecs( A lot of people talk about their powerfull Drush, but honestly... I put then here more because of the extra carriyng capacity for villagers. It is like having free Wheelbarrow on the Dark age. )/ Vikings( Speaking of free Wheelbarrows... )/Japanese( They can boom up to the Feudal Age and make a Men at Arms rush-Very-Quickly. In naval maps, their ability to boom rapidly extends into the Castle and Imperial age too. )
As for my top 5 most versatile civilizations, I would personally agree with Barbarosa for the most part but replace the Vietnamese with the Spanish. If we are talking about the late game, at least, the Spanish dont lack much that is important: Their meele units are superior to the Vietnamese, their Hand Cannoneers make up for the lack of Arbalests, and, well... The only area where they can be described as lacking is their siege, and even then it is still arguably better then Vietnamese siege.[This message has been edited by Draco_Wolfgand (edited 05-29-2018 @ 12:01 PM).]