Would you play a game that is online and centralized around building your own empire?
Depends on the pace of the game. SIM city was wrong.

Assuming the AI was advanced enough to allow you to customize your own scripts for just about every aspect of how your kingdom is run, would you be willing to play a game that keeps your kingdom running even when you are not running it?
To be honest, no. MU is a demanding mistress.

About how many premade AI scripts do you think you would need if you chose not to make your own? This is assuming of course that the script customization is rendered into an easy-to-understand pattern that has descriptions of different elements that you combine to determine behaviors.
Unsure :/

Does the notion of being able to customize the online world through the use of magic and other powers in order to do things such as raise continents, sink continents, and create floating continents, as well as alter the topography, i.e. forest to swamp, desert to mountains, etc. appeal to you?
The floating continent idea sounds fun

Would a fluctuating economy made up of several currencies to choose from and having said currencies go up and down in value based on the overall economic strength of all players using them appeal to you?
Yep.

Would the ability to customize your troops based on the different technologies available to you appeal to you, so long as there were also defaults that fit with your culture?
Very much so

Would you be frustrated by the ability to learn or steal foreign technology knowing that you cannot advance beyond a certain point, techology-wise (around medieval period)?
Again, answer depends on the speed of the game.

Would you be willing to form alliances with other players as well as do war with them?
Very necessary, but makes for over-competitive gameplay.

Does a real-time strategy combat system that also allows you to take third or first-person control of your own personal character appeal to you?
It sounds a bit strange considering the type of game.

How many races and cultures would you want to be able to choose from?
I'd say AOE style that game worked for me.

How many options for face, skin texture, hair, etc. would you want for your primary character's customization?
I'd say Runescape style.

Would you want some sort of moderation so that stronger cultures cannot pick on weaker cultures, or would you prefer a program that makes you unable to attack newer players for a given time period?
Not as much given time period, as something which judges strength based on population, economy, alliance, technology and military, and converts the finding to a 'Level' of sort, and allow players to attack within a certain level limit.