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Pistol/ccw or autoguns? Why?

You keep them default, because putting more points into them is a waste of time. They're there to capture objectives. Nothing more, nothing less. They can't do anything else effective anyway.

Why would I want to spend points on my crappy troop tax?

Heavy Stubbers, because Heavy Stubbers are the greatest weapon in the game.

Mark of nurgle and ccw just so they are that bit harder to kill.

I tend to run mine as zombies with Typhus. That being said, Cultists are really just there to get shot at and stand on objectives.

I have used them offensively once by pouring too many points into them by maxing the squad and giving them all MoK and put them in with Kharne. 35 cultists with rage makes 140 S3 attacks on the charge. Counting in overwatch, its still around 100 I think. (I'm not for certain, mostly experience, not math-hammered.) Not counting Kharne. Really, its just fun to see the look on your opponent's face when you roll all those dice. Almost as good as when the stars align on a charge with spawn and your 5 spawn have 40 attacks. Plus, cultists are fodder anyway, so there are no hurt feelings when kharne starts "red-misting" them on his backswings.

Cultists in the backfield with autoguns and a stubber can be okay, as long as they are in ruins. At least then they can contribute to the battle (other than dying and giving you a tithe point if you're playing Daemonkin). Not much of a contribution, but then autoguns only cost 1 point each, so...eh.

 ZergSmasher wrote:
Cultists in the backfield with autoguns and a stubber can be okay, as long as they are in ruins. At least then they can contribute to the battle (other than dying and giving you a tithe point if you're playing Daemonkin). Not much of a contribution, but then autoguns only cost 1 point each, so...eh.

Autoguns only cost 25% of their default value. If you're using them as wounds, you can get another cultist for every 4 of them...

As zombies or as naked cultists is my vote. Giving them marks and weapons raises their points but not their effectiveness it seems. They are not guardsmen or even cultist and so to me it seems why try to pretend? We have Renegades and Heretics who already try.

Autopistols.

And then if I have 2/3 points left in my list, I go crazy and give them a shotgun.

I give them whatever I have on the model. WYSIWYG. So 8 Autoguns per unit of 18. The Stubber sees some use, but never the Flamer. No point on 5pts for a D3 Wall of Death. Not when I can just spend that amount on most of those Autoguns. Stubber is just there to be annoying or I ran out of guys that need a melta bomb.

A good way to run cultists if you like them and don't just want them barebones to hold objectives is the Helcult formation. At least they wont run away with fearless and can confer a nice 3+ to your Helbrute. If you max out both squads to 35 then you are not wasting 'extra wounds' on weapon upgrades after that point because the squads are maxed (and fearless). Recommend mark of Tzeentch or mark of Nurgle and three flamers.

Autoguns on objectives.

Earthshakers via lost and damned.

Nothing quite says "feth you loyalists" like a bunch of cultists operating an artillery battery.

Sorry if I repeat anything, just tell me (or my writing just sucks).

Waste:
(So I play imperial guard, and my friend plays renegades and the worst part of the game is when I try to shoot him with my 100-150 possible shots but then he charges me turn 1 or 2 with the other uint 35 guys giving him 105 attacks followed by some lord with terminator armor to hold me up and let the remaining part of his army ruin my tanks or camp objectives.)

-(The Important part)
So that being said I believe that best choice would be basic cultist because you will never beat guard in a shooting match weather I bring conscripts or proper guardsmen because I have orders which I believe you do not have,meaning you can't possible do good when shooting unlike when you bring basics and can ruin my day with a charge.

Basic units also make great bubble wrap because they are cheap and will take a charge well.

I give two units CCW, and two units Auto guns because that's how they come in Dark Vengeance... no other upgrades. They are just my two CAD tax. They GtG and hold objectives as long as they can.

Barebones naked- as few points as possible. They're a tax. Throw them on your backfield objectives and spend points on one of our other few units that can actually do something.
Cultists aren't good- they are a popular choice because they are a cheap option to fill your troops- you defeat the purpose of them if you spend extra points on them.

They're useless with points invested into them, useless even when naked. So just run them naked and score a point for every one of them left after your first 3 rounds, because any of them left alive after that should be freaking nominated as Daemon Prince Food.

Seriously, they're bad, keep them that way and cheap. All they're good for is running towards objectives and hiding like pansies in forests and ruins. Maybe if they could take better weapons, but as is, currently they're just a tax on the CSM army.

I currently have 2 units of 20 in my mono slaanesh list one is 2 flamers pistol ccws mark of slaanesh (these 20 boys wiped out 2 5 man Grey Hunter units on sunday) and the other 20 man unit has 2 stubbers a shotgun on the champion and 17 auto guns with mark of slaanesh. Now these 20 boys with help from my level 3 Mark of Slaanesh sorceror with the balestar thanks to prescience and misfortune managed to kill 4 wolf guard bikers before my sorceror bolt pistol ed the last one to the face

CCW/Pistol, Why arm the meat shields?

Nothing. If I could remove their guns and armour I would...

More cultists?

I have to concur with everyone here. I've been toying with variations to try and make these guys do something useful besides die for the cause, but that's really all they excel at! They have a 100% record of getting run down in close combat (for me) so far, and almost never kill anything with shooting. However, since I play Alpha Legion, I need a bunch of these little buggers running around. So I have the Dark Vengeance dudes, and I end up running two squads with autoguns and Stubber to sit in cover on Objectives, and two with pistols and a flamer to run forward and die gloriously trying to go take Objectives upfield.