You'll notice that the game itself propagates said style.

started grinding for 5th and 6th weapons among other things it started becoming force of habit for me to play a very quick "objective assassination" play style. I always equip a fast horse with immunity to getting knocked off and most of my musou bar is used for speed boosts getting to whoever needs to be the most dead right this minute, ignoring absolutely everything else unless they are literally impassable, i.e. gatekeepers, or other officers acting as gatekeepers.

It only acknowledges officers as any kind of actual danger, be it to you or NPCs. Peons are either marker simulations on the map, or start disappearing without a Captian/Commander unit nearby when the player puts some distance of like 10ft/3m and turns away the screen. Makes the game so much more officer-centric, while peons are there for decoration and buffer to make the attacks actually visceral.

I usually go for "glass cannon" character builds-- Frenzy on every weapon, all damage skills in favor of defense ones

Again, it's more about killing them before they kill you. Defensive playstyles imply that you want to slug it out, to outlast an opponent instead of outspamming them with attacks. But it's always the opposite, you're always pressed for time, always in a hurry, always on the shortest route.

Like in the Subjugation maps I was always looking for that massive cluster of Unit captains the first thing into battle. It's such an obvious pattern that that's their only big attack force and once you slice through them, there's nothing left. Every offensive officer was also included in that force and died in the barrage. So now all you're left are with passive bases, prioritizing the Reinforcements base ASAP to stop any further annoyances. Supply base, Stables, doesn't matter. Run in, whack the base captain if he doesn't flee, done.

I know I'm sounding pissy for muh DW8XLCE esperience not being as immersive or having depth. But rather how all of these additions and surface looks of anything that doesn't resemble mindless mashing hundreds of peons do not solve the problem of DW's design that there's little else to it. Sure, leveling, Weapon tiers, mission goals are fine, but once those run out, does one really seek fulfillment in the actual gameplay loop?

Does your favorite character/weapon "match" your play style or do you just use it because you like it? I usually go for fast (or at least relatively fast) spears/pikes/polearms or something similar, but I also really like the throwing knives because they're just OP once weapon fusion silliness gets involved.

I assume this is the actual question?
I surprisingly go for more sword focused characters. Zhou Tai is obvious, he's a badass Samurai doing the "death from a thousand cuts" to any poor sod. I have an immensely soft spot for Wang Yi and her sword-sais of death, especially since she's kind of obsessed with revenge and psychotic as a result. I also liked Yue Jin since you feel "skillful" for handling such a mobile character, alas these guys are gimped by the camera itself :/

I like Lu Xun as well for his mobility and shadow range. Daqiao is probably the only shooter I like since she walks while shooting, which is revolutionary as it seems :/

Shu, I've been getting jaded by the point I'm now playing them after grinding Ambition mode materials, gold, gems with Wang Yi, whom I naturally leveled up to 150.
So Guan Xing for character, his moveset is even more gimmicky than Yue Jin's, but his malevolent, daydreaming character is something I relate with, so I'll want to try him for real. Aside from the main cast of warrirors, Shu feels gimmicky, I had expectations for Xingcai, but she lacks the range and impact, not the mention the design around her thighs, like wtf... clothed, imposing, dutiful, but her skirt lifts by itself...

And of course I like the powerhouses like Zhang Liao, Yu Jin, Zhou Yu, Dian Wei, Sun Ce, Lu Meng, Lu Su etc.

Haven't played Jin yet, I want to see how Zhang Chunhua performs. Wang Yuanji I've heard about and like her design and character as well. The rest, we'll see.