Thank you for those insights Kiralyn.
Personally, I think that those 'abstract systems somewhat based on character skill' work best in the somewhat abstract environment of table-top RPGs.
The moment you create a 3D environment and give the player the agency to freely move around and freely aim his attacks, there is going to be a clash between player skill and character skill. For example, take Morrowind: the chances of my character blocking an attack are determined by dice-rolls, yes, but I can nonetheless move backwards when I see an attack coming. This results in my character dodging pretty much any melee attack because of my skill as a player and not because of his skill as a character.
The moment you represent the way your character attacks his opponents by creating attack animations, there is going to be a clash between how skilled your character is supposed to be and how skilled he actually looks. Take the attack animations in Skyrim: it doesn't matter if my character is a novice at one-handed weapons or a master, he still attacks in the exact same (incompetent) way. In table-top RPG I can pretend that my master swordman character attacks like a master swordman would because I don't see him attacking; in modern RPG videogames I don't have that option anymore because I get to see how his attacks are performed.
To be frank, I don't dislike tabletop RPG mechanics; I think they have depth and invite planning and strategy. However, I do believe that bringing them to modern videogames where the player controls his character and combat occurs in real time is doing those RPG mechanics a disservice; simply put, they are brought into an environment where they can't shine. That may be the reason why action RPG are becoming increasingly popular: they use RPG mechanics but in a way that doesn't clash against player skill.