[quote=@Flagg]
<Snipped quote by Drunken Conquistador>

Love it. Our factions have overlapping motivations and ambitions, so I look forward to the House Kesselbrood/Rankov joint scheming and/or rivalry. The Kesselbroods will be sending out feelers to other Great Houses who might be interested in ending the Imperial experiment and returning to a patchwork confederation of Great Lords, so it'll be interesting to see how receptive the Rankovs are.


[/quote]

You will have to remember that the legitimacy of the Rankovs stem from their appointment to the Exarchate [u]BY[/u] the Empire. Before they were only one of the many houses of Virezhir, and not even one of the largest ones. Over time they built up their power internally, but you've still got prestigious houses with links to their predecessors. 

And just as the Rankovs are trying to loosen the Imperial yoke, some of their vassals wish to do the same for them.