Agreed that germany, austria and ottomans are against the variant rules.
Other options for picking (related to faith) are:
*Maya, for the Pyramid (shrine that gives +2 science per turn) and the UA (we could get a GP from that, don't we? Not saying we should...).
*Ethiopia, for the Stele (monument that gives +2 faith).
I'd choose the Celts, just because they are good at generating faith. Considering what we need before being able to buy units with faith, there's a chance we won't be able to use Pictish Warriors and its faith gaining combat ability. Even so, the free faith from the UA ia pretty nice and it'll start the fun part of the game sooner.
Other options for picking (related to faith) are:
*Maya, for the Pyramid (shrine that gives +2 science per turn) and the UA (we could get a GP from that, don't we? Not saying we should...).
*Ethiopia, for the Stele (monument that gives +2 faith).
I'd choose the Celts, just because they are good at generating faith. Considering what we need before being able to buy units with faith, there's a chance we won't be able to use Pictish Warriors and its faith gaining combat ability. Even so, the free faith from the UA ia pretty nice and it'll start the fun part of the game sooner.