Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

[NiteFox]

It worked pretty much the exact same way. If your enemies could surround you (Which they weren't too good at, sadly), very, very heavy pain was heading your way. The kind of pain that spells 'no chance.'

Instead, they more or less tried to find a way around, until they got within striking range to you, and then did their best to turn you into a Very Dead Thief ™.
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Of course, in such situations my thief/assassin knows that if she takes more than two hits to kill an opponent, or if one of three (two of four, three of five etc.) cannot be dispatched at range, then it's an absolutely hopeless case to take on.

Which is why poisons are so crtitical to a thief, perhaps moreso than the difficulty slider. Develop alchemy, and develop marksman as well, and make sure that your equipment is loaded with the most powerful poisons you have if you decide to wander across the outerworld.

If you can kill a bandit skirmisher with a single poisoned arrow to the head, this makes your job a lot easier. Bowmen can be left until last, just take care of everything that can just strut its stuff towards you and bean you across the skull.

Really, all that dodging and weaving and blocking of close quarters combat doesn't seem like a sane way to play. If I don't kill with the first arrow, then I kill with the next strike of my poisoned Sufferthorn. Anything beyond that is just asking for trouble.

Now, if I was a big dumb Nord wearing twice my bodyweight in plate mail, then I'd probably be more akin to slugging it out. But as a khajiit thief I want battles taken care of with the minimum of fuss and bloodshed on my part.

Plus, playing at the lowest graphical settings, the screen distortion you get when you get whacked across the noggin makes prolonged combat nearly impossible.