Hi,
Which of the M&B titles should I buy?
Meaning, should I start with the newest title (With Fire & Sword I think) or would you recommend to start with Warband?
Or should I start with the actual "original" from 2008?

Which one has the best graphics vs. good steering/game play relation?

I'd NOT recommend you to start with WFaS. It has very different mechanics than the other two (e.g. firearms - they completely change the fights and things), so you'd feel strangely. It's easier to start with M&B/Warband and then go to WFaS than the other way.
So it's M&B or Warband. If you'd start with WB and then go to original, you would feel that something is missing there.
I'd recommend you to start with original M&B, then go to WB and then to WFaS. But if you could buy only one game, I'd say Warband.

I played the original first, since it was free, and then a couple of days later tried Warband. In retrospect, I might just as well have started with Warband. It improves on the original in every conceivable way, and the gameplay is nearly identical wrt to movement and fighting - only the blocking mechanics is a bit different (and harder). Warband's graphics is basically the same as well, with HDR added I think, which looks very nice. If the graphics bothers you, then check out the mods for the game - some radically overhaul the environments, which is the only part that could do with an overhaul. Well, that and some of the faces :P

The only slightly negative think about Warband compared to the original, at least in the beginning, is that it can be overwhelming, especially with regard to dialogue options. That's okay though, since you can progress pretty far without delving into any kind of diplomacy: just ride around plundering, looting, exploring, fighting in tournaments/arenas, killing bandits and/or recruiting followers/recruits until you're ready to 'settle down' and offer/accept vassalage. If you want to that is ;)

That would be my suggestion. It's more like a patched up M&B, 1.5 rather than a completely new version.

I' say there is no reason why you'd even want the original, if you didn't get it for free, besides possibility the compatibility of various mods, but that's not a concern for a beginner. I'd suggest not buying it.

Warband is just an implement of the original (better graphics, more versatile combat controls, better interface). As to which of the two (MB:W vs. WFaS) - you might want to download the trial versions of both from the TaleWorlds website and check yourself which setting / mechanics you like more (you download the full game - without a serial it will run in trail mode, with a level cap).

Good idea! Will give it a go!
And thank you all very much for your opinion, greatly appreciated!
Sounds to me that I am heading for the WB version ... but I'll wait a few more days, I hope to find a bundle of all 3 games at a bargain price.

The general consensus is that Warband is the best in the series so far. Napoleonic Wars was well recieved but it's multiplayer only, and Fire and Sword was kinda "meh". I tried to get into it, and I liked the idea of firearms, but it seems to require far more patience and perseverance than I'm willing to invest in a game right now.

I bought the complete pack a couple of months ago and Warband is the only one I'm playing regularly (and I'm loving every minute of it).

No more than Warband really.

It's seemingly way hard to earn money, but that's because the mechanics are a bit different. Just hunting brigands (you can beat at low levels) leads pretty much nowhere.

Trade and getting a fief are the main roads to prosperity.
Lot's of trade items you can buy for 10 and sell for 80, or buy for 200 and sell for 800. Just about finding out what to buy and where to sell.
Owning a village is a gold mine, unlike in Warband, you get enough tax to field a sizable group of mercenaries.

Sounds very promising! Thank you for the info. This mechinics is closer to reality. Traders always were rich, in all times.
Looks like my dream of a game combining Lords of the Realm 2 and Mount & Blade comes a bit closer to reality. ^_^

Looks like your in luck right now:
http://www.gog.com/promo/big_fall_mount_blade_bundle_121114

I dunno, early game in FaS sure is frustrating. In Warband I could do almost anything I wanted from the very beginning. I could recruit some paesants, go hunt for bandits, and eventually shape them into a formidable force. I could wander around alone (for maximum travel speed) and get rich with trading and tournaments. I could even partecipate in large scale battles and sieges without an army of my own, simply helping a faction as a mercenary.

In FaS you don't have all this freedom. First and foremost because recruiting and upgrading troops is much harder than before. Paesants can only be upgraded twice, and even at max rank they suck terribly, not to mention that for some obscure reasons you can't even have more than a dozen at once if you aren't part of their faction. Which means that bandits are extremely dangerous early on, and most of the time your'll be forced to avoid or bribe them.

Then there's the whole matter of firearms: while they are very inaccurate, they are common too and a stray bullet is enough to oneshot a light-armored target (you). Add the fact that good (or even decent) armor is rare and prohibitely expensive, and you can imagine where this is going...

Yep, the thing is, if you try to do the same in F&S it's a frustrating experience.
And the early game is pretty boring, when you can only fight small bands of looters/brigands. Though getting a half a dozen mercenaries (light cavalry preferably) helps a lot.

But after you get the hang of it (fish and food from villages for under 20, sell to forts for over 50, gunpowder for 200, sell for 800), getting couple of thousands at a time is no trouble.

I'd just travel around with a small bunch of mercenaries (small enough that you can outrun big hordes, though those khanate raiders are wicked fast and deadly early on) and find a bunch of suitable companions.

Also all kinds of lords have all kinds of missions that won't make you rich, deliver messages and such, but they do give XP and make them like you.

The FaS recruitment system is aimed at recruiting from the mercenary camps. While you can still recruit peasants (which don't amoun to much but make good canon fodder) and mercenaries from taverns (who are expensive) the mercs from the camps allow you to choose custom equipment and troop type from the get-go.

The important thing to note here is that they are regional so it makes sense to purchase mercs from a single location, making it easier to replenish ranks and manage equipment upgragdes. Filling your ranks with a patchwork makes this much more complicated since camps will only outfit mercs they have sold you. To this end I would suggest deciding fairly early on in the game - much earlier than in WB - who's war you want to back and basing yourself in that region. You may want to consider the type of mercs you can get in each region and how they relate for your prefered battle tactics to inform this choice.

WB is definitely a more fluid experience with troop diversity causing less issues and probably the better introduction however the FaS system is a very fun alternative which I would definitely still recommend once you have settled into the swing of M&B. Also, being susceptible to insta-kills from muskets is a nice change from the battlegod you will eventually turn into in WB which I find instensifies the singleplayer experience a bit.

I managed to grab the M&B series on GoG, as there is only
MOUNT & BLADE: WARBAND + 1 DLC
MOUNT & BLADE: WITH FIRE & SWORD
I guess I'll start with warband!

Thank your for your thoughts!

Yes, Warband is more newbie friendly. In WB, you start with a "tutorial quest", so you're guided at the beginning of the game. With M&B, you're left to fend for yourself without any instruction, whch means you can feel pretty lost.

Really, Warband is simply better than the first game for a new player. :)