Haha! Yeah, I go the other way with this too. Some of the clairvoyant type comments that guards make bother me, not when I'm treated like any other wanderer or citizen. Although there is a point to be made about the AI being able to make "judgements" based upon your appearance and that, e.g., a newbie bandit may pass on attacking that dude decked out in dragonplate armor; or the other side, guards limiting their comments based upon what they can *see*.

Look at it this way: it is leagues above the combat mechanics of any previous TES game


Go try to play Daggerfall right now and see what I mean.

Kingdoms of Amalur : Reckoning combat mechanics are pretty sweet

I played all ES with the exception of Arena and none of them left me in awe of the combat mechanics. Still, although my memories may have just faded, I think the combat was more fluid and less clunky in all versions (I'm talking about controls and fun here, not super animations and super graphics). At least I can say that none of the ES left me with that impression. Anyway, since Daggerfall computers are 100 times more powerful, tools are 100 times more sophisticated, the budget for videogames is 100 times bigger, and everyone on the staff is an experimented professional on payroll and not the manager's cousin working between 8PM and midnight as long as you feed him with pizzas. If you fail such an important part of the game, it's not because you had to devote your budget everywhere (you can do something simple and inexpensive but fun), because you didn't have the time in 30 months, because you didn't have any experience in that field, or something else: it's mainly because you failed.

Did you just refer to Morrowind's combat as "fluid"?

Yep. The combat mechanic were already dumb but at least, if my memories are correct, you could strike and cast spells while jumping or falling, casting was instantenous (or at least required a single click no holding), switching from a weapon to your spell was faster, swinging a 2h was faster (realistic? who cares? I don't want to play real life 2.0), you could move with your weapon raised and ready to swing, you didn't have to hold your mouse buttons constantly, etc. Again, it was dumb, but probably funnier.

You should do some research about combat with a shield. One of the most feared hits in a shield wall was the one from beneath the shield, stabbing for the groin. It was fast, difficult to see and very deadly. One of the most used ways of doing it was by raising the shield and stabbing underneath. They strike is written about being used by the roman legions (ok the gladius was a bit longer than a knife), in ancient greek combat (the xiphos was really just a large knife with more weight to it) and later in the dark ages (normal to carry short stabbing sword almost like knives for stabbing, like the viking and saxon Seax) up until the 15th century. The vikings even sowed strips of iron into their boots to stop the hidden blow that comes beneath the shield. So YES, you can. Raising your shield doesn't mean just stand there with arms extended and raise it a bit. You raise tour shield and move forward underneath it to stab forwards and up. Also, about the guy hugging you: in quite a few situations in a fight with blades you would get quite close enough to hug, even when not in a shield wall.