Well, Marblehalls has FINALLY had its first real brush with combat. Our cage traps (6 at each of the 4 entrances) have collected their due harvest of goblin snatchers over the years, but at long last I was a little slow closing the gate behind a new party of migrants, and An ambush! Curse them!
4 of the goblin pikemen were swallowed by cages, 2 were shot down by the departing Human merchants, and one made it inside: Happily, he idiotically got bloodlust against a lamb, and chased it all across the map, ignoring my defenseless dwarves & the 2 dogs that were chasing him. When the dogs caught up, he killed them both instantly, then he apparently looked around and saw that he was alone: He beelined back to the only exit available--the one through which he came in--and was promptly snapped up by another cage. Crisis Averted. I un-forbade all of the dead goblins' gear, and we ran out to collect it . . . though for some reason, there's a perfectly good pair of leather trousers that nobody seems to want, sitting just outside the moat. I want to bring it inside, but can't seem to find the appropriate stockpile to draw it in.
Some time later, I was flipping through my various dwarves' moods, and noticed that my mayor & his manager girlfriend both "made a satisfying acquisition lately." I put it down to the new artifact weapon rack decorating their shared audience chamber. Still later, I cruised by their shared bedroom and saw an unfamilar object lying right next to their twin beds. So I examined it & found it to be a (troll fur loincloth).
Then I wondered which one of them was sexy-prancing around the bedchamber wearing it.
Then I LOLed.
What do you recommend I should do? Is getting more nobles going to benefit me in any way?
Or are they still completely useless?
If you do nominate one of your own to become your Baron(ess), choose one whose preferences match materials readily available on-site or easily obtained through trade. If your site has no iron or flux stone and you (currently) have no Weaponsmith or Bowyer, elevating a noble who likes steel and crossbows would not be the wisest course of action.
And yes, they're completely useless, except for self-satisfaction and a status symbol. ("Woohoo, I'm a barony now!")