i saw this coming. i actually was thinking how this would be a cool idea about 2 weeks ago. instead of the PvP style, you could make each player a general, or a leader of their own troup. and around the vast world you could just have players fight their troup againts others or join a large army. a troup could probably be the player and 1-16 of his troops. that way you could put a cap on the # of troops a single person could have, but maybe make their troops level up with the more battles they win and survive.
You would have to keep the stat growth of the players hero down to a reasonable level , so if an olbie's hero came up into a reasonalby players troup of 6 rangers and 6 soldiers, he would go around decimating them in one hit not taking any damage.
A cool idea would be the ability to customize the outfits of your troop too. so they could all be decked out in armor and steel helmets, and call them the "Knights of the Round"
Instead of a building where you just click buttons to get more troops, you could set up a system where npc's across the whole world are everywhere in towns sitting at tables and in bars that could be recruited. And each person would have slightly different stats, so you could decide if he would be better as a swordsman or a ranger. Each troup member could require a large initial payment with a small upkeep payment each week or something, that way your troop couldnt just grow and grow, and it forces players to stay active instead of sitting in the main towns doing nothing.
Weapon and armor shops could be set up to outfit your troop with upgrades as well. Of course special items that add effects and auras to your hero just like the merchant shops in wc3. And have an extra slot on the ganis to show your troops coat of arms, the logo of your troop and have it show when someone selects a guy in your troup. player customizable coat of arms is necessary.
And you wouldnt want to have your troop die and never come back if you happened to loose a battle. that wouldnt be any fun! so instead you could set up a system where the players hero would be the only one that you could revive and have to travel back to an Inn to find your troop there, with a small XP or money penalty.
I guess thats it. you can see i am an avid wc3 player and a game like this i would love to play.