Im coming fresh from Dead Island which hands down is the best 1st person melee system ive seen, the zombies reacted realistically to every blow, every slice, and the result was very satisfying and addictive combat.
Whereas Skyrim, just seems clumsy in comparison. Now I know I know, compared to how much they get right, I'm not gonna winge too much, but its definately an area they could try to patch or update to improve no?
(Bethesda should check this article on combat - http://www.hookedgamers.com/blogs/chrispriestman/2011/10/31/skyrims_combat_may_not_be_good_enough_for_todays_standard.html)