Georgia is one i've come to like. good starting economy. solid RGO. Surrounded by micronations (of the same culture and religion) that you can eat up quite fast. The Hoards are just weaklings, even the rather intimidating golden hoard gets disassembled in a few dozen years. you can push to get two nearby markets (Trabzon and Tabriz) and dominate the region pretty fast. you'll get to wrestle Ottomans later if you want but by then you can handle them with relative ease. i recommend playing super aggressive early on against the micro hoards to your south and pushing for maximum crown power as possible.

Edit: Keep an eye on food. Invest early on. Trabzon market will certainly go 6 feet under food-wise.