I would like to start off saying Bethesda did an amazing job on the game, it's a lot better then I had expected. I am enjoying everything about it.

I enjoy dual wielding a lot, makes the fighting extremely fun. The finishing moves are amazing as well. I'm not a huge fan of always sneaking around and killing my targets. Most of the times I like to/have to fight my targets straight on. Since you can't block while dual wielding, besides being able to counter an enemies move which doesn't happen all the time and requires precise timing. I usually do try to move out of the way, or strafe to the side, but it only happens occasionally. Sometimes when I jump back I still end up getting hit. I was wondering if anyone had any methods they know/recommend to avoid damage the most?

Dual wielding swords and using light armor as well.

dont underestimate the power of sprint. I dont use swords, but since they reduced backpedal speed sometimes i turn to my right or left and sprint (instead of circleing the enemy) its faster to dodge.

I dual wield and ive found out that just running from left to right ( not around the target ) works pretty good. Avoids lots of hits and hills them pretty fast

I think the word your looking for is Strafing.

Wow, I had no idea about sprinting untill I read this...haha. So much more fun, although sadly you can't strafe sprint to move to the side quicker.