Not sure I have come across any in-depth comparisons or multi-tabbed spreadhseets. Nor would in-depth comparisons be of much use now since the current gameplay/mechanical state of Imperator is a dead end.
Things like Tim Stone’s intro are enough for me:
Making bold statements about titles you’ve never played is a recipe for disaster in my line of work. I only do it when the risk of being wrong is infinitesimal. I can, for instance, tell you that waging war in Field of Glory: Empires is far more interesting than waging war in Imperator: Rome despite never having played the Paradox game. What I’m not prepared to do – not yet anyway – is tell you that Slitherine’s offering is more interesting and flavoursome in peacetime too, although I suspect that may indeed be the case.
Imperator Rome is in mechanical limbo at the moment with no telling if the October update will provide the saving grace fixes for the game. FoG: Empires has reviewed quite strongly and seems worth playing (perhaps along with Aggressors) right now.