A right up about Luthor Harkon has been posted on the Creative Assembly website.
For centuries, Arch Grand Commodore Luthor Harkon has ruled a stretch of Lustrian shore known as the Vampire Coast. He raided the temples of Lustria until the Old Ones could tolerate it no more and placed a powerful hex upon him, shattering his mind into many warring personalities and severing him from the Winds of Magic. Harkon’s multiple identities now battle for dominance but they have one common goal, to plunder the sacred places of the Lizardmen and use the power of their Slann artefacts to break the curse and heal his damaged mind.
FACTION EFFECTS
Luthor Harkon’s fierce hatred of Lizardmen significantly hampers diplomatic relations but gives him a notable edge when leading his armies against them.
LORD EFFECTS
Luthor Harkon’s mind is fractured, meaning any one of his myriad different personalities can seize control – with unpredictable consequences.
MOUNT: DEATH SHRIEK TERRORGHEIST
Luthor Harkon can take to the skies astride a fearsome Death Shriek Terrorgheist.
UNIQUE ITEM: SLANN GOLD
This filthy lucre reduces the cost of raising the dead, increases magic resistance, and reduces the Winds of Magic starting amount for enemy armies.
UNIQUE SKILLS
MAN-O-WAR
Luthor Harkon is no stranger to battle, his thousands of years of experience bolstering the leadership of his Depth Guard and Zombie Deckhands as well as increasing hero capacity for Vampire Fleet Captains.
SEVERED FROM THE WINDS
Luthor Harkon’s connection to the Winds of Magic was violently severed, increasing his magic resistance and reducing the Winds of Magic starting amount for enemy armies.
HAND CANNON
Luthor Harkon’s bullets pack an explosive punch, increasing missile damage for both himself and his Zombie Gunnery.
MOMENT OF LUCIDITY
Flashes of clarity through the madness serve to increase Luthor Harkon’s armour and melee defence.
PIRATE KING
Luthor Harkon’s reign as Pirate King of the Vampire Coast is absolute, reducing unit upkeep for Harkon’s army and increases global recruitment capacity.
Some other interesting details is the addition of "The Galleon Graveyard" in the middle of the Great Ocean (visible on the map in the above blog). The blog also gives silhouettes of the other three lords coming.
From them it can be pretty strongly be guessed that two of them are Noctilus and Aranessa Saltspite. I do not know who the third person is, the sihouette looks kind of like a banshee with no legs and wavy hair. I don't really know that much about the Vampire Coast or Dreadfleet so someone more knowledgable will have to take a guess.
Aranessa is a really odd pick because she's alive, and a Chaos mutant to boot. Making her into a vampire is kind of forced, but whatever.
While I have no problem with such a change, does she necessarily have to be a vampire now? She could be a necromancer, or infused with enough of the energy from the Galleon Graveyard (a place that, from my understanding, collects all of the oceans dead) that she now has the power to command undead troops while still being living, or maybe empowered enough by necromatic magic she counts as undead (such as Ghouls, Necromancers, Dire Wolves and Fell Bats).
Edit:
On Rome 2's naval battles, I never really had a problem with them. Though they were difficult to control what with all the remembering which way the winds blowing, planning ship movements in advance, where your other ships are and are going to be and so on. It became a mess but I felt that was more through my own actions.
It's like a whole new set of tactics and maneuvers to understand.