Not to the degree it does right now. I have 4 nobles. And only because I donated, otherwise I'd just be playing 3.
I've been playing since 2005 and only just recently got allowed to have 4 nobles. Used to be 4 active, 3 nobles out of a max of 12.
I think you can only really dedicate yourself to MAYBE two characters. The rest just kind of end up as mindless drones, in my opinion.