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I think this is basically a good list. You have plenty of troops for a 1000pts game, and can tie up and overhelm the enemy.
Your army building process touches up some general ideas about what is good in an Empire list and what is not.
Sworsmen or Halberdiers?Against many opponents, Empire infantry can't decide when to charge, just when they offer themselves to a charge. In these situations, the better weapon skill and better armour save of the Swordsmen weighs more than ranked attacks or extra strength. Also the armour save helps them to stay alive when shot at.
So that's the reason the Swordsmen were considered superior to other state troops. Much depends on the types of games and armies played locally.
Then the Halberdiers or Free Company were preferred for detachments, because they are better in generating kills when they charge the enemy unit flank. But Swordsmen were also used for this purpose.
In general the differences are quite small and Swordsmen do cost that extra point apiece, so even in competitive surroundings you might take what you like. Many competition winners back in the day did play different parent detachments, not just Swordsmen.
You might even consider deploying your infantry units just four wide (you get the full rank bonus still in the 6th ed) and four deep, with a couple of extras hanging behind. This would make them more vulnerable against shooting, and prone to losing ranks faster. But it would free some points if you want to fine-tune the shooting with some extra men.
How much shooting is enough?Shooting is also an option for Detachments. I think if there's one lack in your list, it's the low number of shooters. Empire Handguns and Crossbows are actually relevant in the game, even if they tend to miss a lot.
Taking the ten Handgunners as two Detachments would allow you to spread out the shooting if needed, and shoot in reaction to the parent unit being charged. So a bit more flexibility, although you then have one less unit to deploy, which might be a pro or con depending on the situation.
How to kit the Captain-General, and where to put him?I would put the Captain on a Barded Warhorse and join the Knights. If your troops start taking break tests, they usually lose by more than a point or two, in which case Ld8 doesn't help much more than Ld 7, without the battle standard.
Of course then your Captain isn't around for Panic and Rallying either. But if an Empire army with Ld8 is forced to take Panic tests, it will fail some anyway. So better get adjusted to that. And your fleeing troops will often be outside of the Ld8 bubble, so even there a Captain among the rank and file might not have an effect. But these are very tender tactical and positioning questions. Hard to say how often they take an effect. 1000pts games tend to be very swingy, and it's usually better to advance boldly and force the opponent take those tests.
Do you need a rank for knights, or is frontage (attacks) better?I'd play the knights six wide, and drop the two from the second rank. Even just five wide if the Captain goes here. You want to maximise the attacks when you charge.
If you put the Captain on a Barded Warhorse (14pts) and drop two knights (46pts), you would then have 32 unused points. Four more Handgunners. Or two more Halberdiers, and you would have full 20 points left to buy your Captain-General the Sword of Might to give him Strength 5 attacks. One of the best magic weapons for its points.
Ah, 6th ed min-maxing...
-Z
