Paul,
Just a comment about the defensive shield shove: I often find myself approaching archers/throwers/xbowers with my shield raised while they are holding a shot waiting for me to drop my block. Ideally, there would be some way to run up and bump them, interrupting their hold. Unfortunately, this isn't possible in practice, since the bump mechanic seems to only occur when the melee player presses their attack button, which of course lowers their block and generally results in them getting shot in the face. It would make sense if the defensive shield shove was a useful tool for interrupting ranged, since you have to be holding block anyway while approaching them. However, it doesn't work this way, because the slow shield shove animation cannot block projectiles at any time during the animation, and the ranged player has plenty of time to release their shot into your head before the nudge interrupts them.
This is what I propose:
Allow the defensive shield shove to block projectiles (and maybe melee?) during the early part of the animation, but shift the "vulnerable" window later in time so you are still open for the same total amount of time. This would actually make it a useful defensive tool, but you would be severely punished if you missed your nudge. The current implementation doesn't seem to match your intent of making this a defensive tool, since attempting it is more of a defensive liability than an asset.
