If it helps any, I made an army designed to be mostly level 1s with a few level 2s that was none the less very effective. It was also realistic, in that costs per soldier were considered and resource management was important. Here's the basics. Unless otherwise noted, everyone's human and level 1:
Infantry Groups: multiple blocks of 40 troopers, 4 deep by 10 wide. 2 Marshals (Both level 2, using auras to buff their troops) in the back center, along with 2 Binders (both with Improved Binding and using Malphas, with their birds back at the command post to receive orders for the unit. Two other birds from the command post sat on their shoulders, allowing for instant communication with the unit). The rest of the men were Crusaders with Brigadine Armor, Heavy Spiked Shields and Awl Pikes. Exotic Weapon Proficiency on all of them, as well as Extra Granted Maneuver. Two had Leading the Charge. Two had Bolstering Voice. Those four were all in the back. Of the remaining 32, half had Martial Stance and half had Iron Guard's Glare, and all are arranged in checkerboard formation so the stances are spread out. Tactics are simple... move forward with shields equipped and pikes held. Use Martial Stance to heal from any arrow damage. When in combat, use pikes with shields on the back. The whole unit gets an AC bump from Iron Guard's Glare (because everyone is in range of at least two others with the stance) and they all heal each other. The front line simply holds their pikes once they've engaged the target and fights with their spiked shields if necessary.
Archery Groups: 2 Marshals as above, two binders as above, 36 Fighters with Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, and Coordinated Archery. Lots of arrow damage, especially considering the command group's bonus. They use Compound Longbows and Brigadine Armor, and have Longspears in case they're hit in melee.
Command Group: 14 bards, 10 of whom have dragonfire inspiration. 10 are various dragon decended races (Kobolds, Dragonborn, etc) using Dragonfire Inspiration, with 5 types of inspiration used (Fire, Cold, Electricity, Sonic, Acid), so two of each. 12 (including all dragons) use Masterwork War Drums, which double their normal bardic bonus to hit, which in turn yields 2d6 energy damage. The two remaining use the normal war drums to provide a better will bonus against fear. The net effect is +10d6 energy damage to all friendly troops, +2 to hit, and the usual bardic will bonus. Additionally, two binders per unit exist for communication, and more binders are there, also with Malphas, scouting for the army. The commander is also here with the command group, issuing orders. He should be an Archivist, Bardic Knack Bard, Cloistered Cleric, or similar high level command class. He uses the intel from the field to coordinate the battle effort.
Also used are scout groups, each with two communcation binders and a bunch of Rogues, Scouts, and Factotums. These hunt down flankers. Also, there are knight groups... heavier cavalry with decent armor.
JaronK