I'm 1h, but I keep a 2h alt char. When using my Longsword, I tried the half-sword mode. I think it's very interesting, though something that doesn't make sense (unless I read it wrong) was that in the game, it said when I used my Longsword as a polearm, the length increased but the speed decreased......shouldn't it be the other way around?
You don't need to own a sword to know shorter=faster. Anyone play golf? You know the difference between your driver and your sand wedge in terms of radial velocity. And you know when you choke up/down on the shaft, you swing the club faster/slower.