OKAM´s melee system is great for dueling, but i didnt like it in groupfighting. In Warband you can easily see which direction you have to block, in OKAM it was messy, i prefer a system to be a bit simpler so you can play it smoother. In general what most guys here are calling for is a task for mods, if they deliver a game with rock solid melee mechanics, netcode and a fleshed out single player this game will be paradise for modders. I do hope for a gamemode to test and further your skill in small groups like 8v8 or 5v5 without bots.(Esport can only develop on its own if there is enough interest to play it that way, TW shouldnt force it but a bit of support would be nice)
About consistent updates, it really depends if Taleworlds wanna go the route of a lot of modern games of just updating the game, or the classic "goodbye, we develop M&B 3 now".
For constant updates they need constant cashflow in the long run, so they would need to implement microtransactions in one form or another.