Sigh.
I'm not saying that everyone who can't block stabs is a retard, but those who whine about them instead of learning how to fight them deserve to get slapped around a little imho. It's not a "silly blunder", it's part of the game. M@B is not a medieval combat simulator, it's a game.
We all had to learn how to combat and counter them, it's part of getting better at the game, and at the end of the day when you can both combat and use the stabs they become a fun part of the game.
You may not notice it, but these kinds of mechanic changes, while they do help newbies get into the game they kill the complexity and 'fun' of more advanced melee fighting. I did a 'tl;dr wall of text' on why I think the reduced turnspeed is bad. It kills thing such as fighting groups of people by yourself, duelling, you find yourself simply screwed in situations you could fight your way out of previously etc...
And Leshma, I have no idea why you try to go personal all the time, it only makes you look like a dick, but the reason I stopped playing was not stagger removal. Removing stagger was an awesome change. I had some rl issues a few days after the removal but then this turnrate nerf bullshit struck, which made me rq. I still occasionally play on the unupdated servers though, if you're so eager.