Maybe, if TW wants to keep this dynamic like the class system, it can be made like a timing system where if you are blocking within something like 0.3 milliseconds, you always block, but if you are blocking statically, you can get punished with a crushthrough which should do minor damage. In that way there is at least a way to be skillful against the dynamic while it will still be an extra hindrance on the battlefield. Or is that also what you mean with "active blocks" Ikea?