I definitely welcomed the removal of Pot Shot, but it took me a while to get around to actually testing it, and I just got my first game in with a Crossbow horde in the other day. (The report itself is here and forum thread here for details.) I had a bit of a combined arms approach as well, with the Crossbowmen, three balliastae, two infantry hordes, some Knights, Giants, and flying Generals. I think the humans need the fantasy elements to compete – monsters and such are pretty strong.
Unfortunately, I did not use the Crossbowmen very well. Fortunately, they still managed to do ok, landing some decent chip damage and surviving into the late game to help me with the scenario with their unit strength. I don’t think the human versions do enough to justify a second horde, but I could see the Dwarfs experimenting with two, since they are more effective fighters and can better punch back if chaff is charging in to disorder them.
Also, I’ll second the opinion on the Halflings. I played an Ambush game in an escalation league against some recently, and while the shooters were not all stars, their mobility is a huge asset and the army has a lot of impressive synergies with their auras. I am excited to see how they do in the league going forward and they seem like fun to pilot.