Well, I think that, if you're going to make parries cost stamina, it's only fair that the single most powerful defensive option in the game (which makes you immune to attacks AND guard breaks) cost stamina as well.
Of course, I also think they should fix that aspect of assassin dodges. The start-up should be quite vulnerable to guard breaks, but as soon as the attack starts its animation there should be no i-frames. It feels entirely too cheap to throw out a swing at the end of their dodge animation and still somehow hit air. Makes no sense from a gameplay standpoint. If they didn't try to time their dodge at all, why should they be rewarded for it?
I hadn't thought of that light attack property change. That's a pretty good one. As it is, there's no incentive to try to chain lights at all, as you're likely to just get parried on the attempt.
Really, there's a lot of small mechanical changes they can make to improve the health of the game really, really fast. I hope it doesn't take them too long to make some of the more drastic changes.
Oh, believe me, I am 100% aware of how overpowered assassin dodging is and fully expect a huge nerf in their future.
The fact that they completely negate all options against them is anathema to the health of the game. Something that powerful just shouldn't exist. It encourages passive, reactive play far too much. Every action should be a commitment, rather than just giving you free invulnerability to everything an opponent can throw at you.
Reminds me of the dark wood grain ring shenanigans in the first Dark Souls game. Just something that should not exist, let alone be encouraged. Don't know how anyone can enjoy that style of gameplay. Doesn't feel right. Hopefully Ubisoft can recognize the problems inherent in this mechanic and are willing to do some big changes to improve the health of the game long-term. Judging from how they've handled Siege and The Division, I'm hopeful. Otherwise, the game just doesn't have a chance.
