I'm afraid I haven't the time to read this entire thread, but I just want to throw my opinion in and you can do what you like with it.
I rather loathe the melee system in this game, and I think it DOES have problems because Warband is great fun in a fight with the same weapons. Specifically, I like to fence with a one handed weapon, which is what I invariably use in Warband. My reasons in order of importance, highest to lowest: 1) Fast weapon speed. 2) Weighs less. 3) Makes me feel like a pirate.
I went into WFaS thinking the same thing, and so always chose a 1 handed sword. And I'm finding it way too difficult against people who like to swing pole axes in any old direction. Now before people say "You're not doing it right!" I became fairly proficient in Warband through lots of practice, and while I'm definitely not the best, I'm decent. To put it another way, in fights against opponents with 2 handed weapons, I'd win over 50% of the time. Maybe over 60%, but I wouldn't say as much as 3 out of 4 fights. But in WFaS, I probably lose about 90% of the time. It doesn't help that when I can successfully keep blocking long enough to earn opportunities for a hit, they just won't die (I think I estimated at least 8 hits once), and yet when they inevitably hit me, since few people can keep a stream of successful blocks up forever, it's an instant kill.
But the main problem is that I can't distinguish between the speeds of the weapons. Yes, they have different stats, but the difference isn't enough, and it looks as though most people agree with me here. However, I can't notice a difference in speed between 2 handed weapons in Warband and WFaS, but it does feel like my 1 handed sword is so much slower and more unresponsive. Sometimes a guy with a pole axe even manages to hit me before I can finish priming the block - and again, before you say I have awful reaction speed, I do well in Warband. I don't know if that's all to do with the game though; I'd love to know what combat speeds the servers are set too. Basically, a 1 handed sword just seems too slow.
But the way I see it, all you have to do is make the melee system just like Warband, and we're laughing. After all, there aren't nearly as many complaints about Warband as there are for WFaS. And I agree with people on here in the earlier pages; that you could get further with skill in Warband.