persia is one of my favirote civs as long as two conditions are met
1) i have to know my ally, and be able to play around his rushes. not a problem usualy, i rarely play without friends
2) must have control of water. this is often a problem. if the enemy gains control of the h2o and i'm persia, i may as well give my supplies to my ally and move on with my life. i smile when my ally picks yammy, minoa, or phoe when it's 2v2 on medit and i want to be persian.
as far as persian being crappy, they aren't if you can use them correctly. hunting is a must, usualy not a problem, gazelle are often left laying around by allies and enemies alike. i think of them as movable berry bushes. No wheel is a disadvantage? yeah, sure. the only civ i ever get the wheel with, in bronze anyway, is egypt. no one else needs the chariots. maybe phoenician. villagers too slow? explore with scouts and build dropsites closer to resources: problem solved. persia have to iron jump? not nessecarily. i play persia a lot like yamato. a well placed tool rush, followed by cav (camels when expecting ca) and a grand iron finale of ha and wars. if food is tight, don't forget that persia has perfect barracks, and swordsmen are decent backup for ha.