Haha, i am sorry but Thal has 48 nobles. Melhed has 28. I don't see how that's "a bit more nobles". 
I keep trying to explain this idea that Melhed isn't an underdog. Thal's RCs suck. Suuuuuck. I think it has two good RCs, and they're still not as good as four or five different ones in Melhed. Its infrastructure is still largely in shambles. They have about 2,000 gold more than Melhed, that's true. They also have double the nobles. That's far less gold per noble, to recruit far crappier soldiers. At least ten of Thal's nobles aren't even at the front. Instead, they're busy wandering around the frozen wasteland, putting out monster fires every turn. So much for that noble advantage. Melhed's recruited almost as much mobile CS as Thal has, every time. With half the nobles.
IMO, the only reason Melhed hasn't secured a lasting advantage in this war is strategy and execution.
