Never ever take an inactive! It doesn't matter if they're in your CI or are the closest enemy. It doesn't matter if active enemy are nobling them to establish a war front or move into your CI as they stack and attack. It doesn't matter if they're little players with a huge morale advantage and tons of support from the back 40. It also doesn't matter if that sat inactive is launching on you. To take those villages is weak people. Oh, and don't take barbs either. You're only supposed to take villages from the super stars or they just don't count. It's not about how many villages you have or how many attacks you repel.
This isn't a game for the intelligent. It's for those to prove who's toughest and how many nukes they can waste before actually taking a village. If you deliver a swift, but fatal blow and immediately noble it, then you won't get enough ODA to impress. It's about discrediting those you oppose while boasting about what you've done.
Either that or it's about taking more than you lose and protecting your turf, regardless of how great or weak the competition is and how many are ganging up on that opponent. I suspect that taking villages from a great player with thousands of attacks from multiple people isn't any more of a "quality" victory than taking villages off a lesser able player all by yourself, especially if you're at a big morale disadvantage. The world doesn't have a great measure for "quality" victories, so dismissing any ennoblement despite the lack of impressive nobles for yourself is a bit of an arrogant display.
What would the world be without trash talk though? I've got plenty of quality victories and plenty easy ennoblements too. What I'm more impressed by is keeping the villages you take.