Noobie about to partake in 4-5 FFA with other noobies! Need advice (please!)

Hey folks, nooblet here! I've played AoE2 on and off for years since it first came out, but have only recently started looking at improving in a competitive way.

So tonight I'm having a game with 3-4 friends - who, as far as I know, are about that same skill level (have only learnt the game by playing it, not looking up tips or build orders or anything) - so theoretically I should be fine. But I really want to win! :-P

I'm thinking I'll have to be more defensive given the FFA nature - I can't sleep on the resources, for sure, but I think harassing will be far less effective when I'm only hitting one out of four opponents.

Are the following thoughts on point?

• Do a typical 22 pop feudal, into archers or spears + fast castle? I'm thinking scouts are less useful without the harass, so archers are better general defense, whereas spears are cheaper and can counter their scouts if they actually decide to harass?
• Be somewhat aggressive/ambitious with gold and stone around the map? It should prove the difference if everyone turtles a lot, as I expect. Or...
• Get a strong comp early on to try and take someone out midgame, thus having the chance to claim any resources nearer to them?
• In terms of civ choice, I love the Brits but given the map size and FFA I really feel like I should go with a cav archer civ - map control and the ability to react, basically. I feel like my options are between Burma for the Arambai, or Spanish for Conquistadors (plus missionaries is nice). Are either of these a clear winner? Also...
• How important are bombard towers in a 4-5 player FFA? In 1v1s I've been fine just focusing on army instead of super defensive towers, but in this game mode do I need them to help my turtle shell?

Apologies if anything I've asked is super noobie or anything - it's basically my first week of learning competitive stuff. I was a plat player in StarCraft 2 back in the day, but while there are plenty of similarities between the two games, I'm still com ijng to grips with a lot of what competitive AoE2 requires.

Thanks for any help!