Why I don't want combos/special moves

[Ilex]

I don't want combos as combos. I want that the fighting would look like having combos . Like when you strike with your r-hand to the left by changing attack direction the movement would stay uninterrupted and the sword would continue it's way to the right. But if you strike again from the same direction as the first blow you just have to draw the blade back. Understand what I am after?
EDIT: This would be nice, but not very important .

 

[JohnathanStrange]

Can we all assume then that melee combat, especially on foot, could use some additional improvement: either minor tweaks or major additions?

As it stands now, melee combat on foot is generally much less satisfying to me (not just because I'm bad at it) because there's not so much attack variations of the sort we see in "combos." However, I'm not in favor of any gamey supermoves either.

 

[Fidelis]

Let me give you some examples -
an attack that will block with parry BEHIND you, then spin you around and strike if you follow up with an attack

combo attacks like a thrust forward turned into a body spin and strike behind you

Some of your ideas are nice but I think these two are a little much for this game. Anything involving a spin to face another opponent (one that's behind you, in this example) breaks away from the simple-yet-compelling combat style currently in the game. I really don't want to see the current system bogged down by fancy moves, although some more options for one on one combat would be nice (your counter-strike and guard following suggestions, for example).