I'm playing the game at level 4 (noble) and i'm getting absolutely destroyed by extremely agressive AI opponenets (multiple at once...) and for some reason can never manage to befriends them, i've even tried and donate all my technologies to them but nothing changed. 
 
So how is it that you keep the AI from making you its bitch especially in the early game.

Apart from manually changing their behaviour I've only managed to get through by murdering them instead. : / Most of the time the A.I tries to cheat you anyway so befriending them is a lot harder in comparison to the easiest difficulty. If you want to get on their good side though you can try to be like one of them. i.e same religion and governmental policy.

Will give that tactic a go as soon as i'm confident enough to pick that game up again... 4 way simultaneous attack left me traumatised