no nudge abooze
Yes, those nudges man, wiggle lolstab jerk abuse and piss easy hiltslashing is definitely preferable.
In case you haven't noticed, the developers have actually thoroughly changed the fighting mechanics in cRPG, which means that what you call 'pure skill', is actually skill at Native, even more specificly at Native duelling with a Great Sword in a tunic. It has little to do with Warband skill overall and much less so with skill at cRPG. You are playing Battlefield to decide who is better at Counter-strike. Sure they both have guns and similar controls, but skill at one is a little different from skill at the other.
Say you agree on duelling in cRPG with STF's wearing a Gambeson, leather boots and no gloves or helmet and using unloomed weapons. Much better test of skill at cRPG than Native duelling and completely fair, and let's see how slow the game is in a Gambeson.