Quicktime events, obviously.
And thus every old school Elder Scrolls fan threw their copy of Skyrim in the trash in unison.
Strangely enough, I see this being the case though. Bethesda seems to want to show off their new animations (if the words "Player playing cool anims" for the crafting table are any indication), so what better way to show it off than by having a QTE of your player kicking ass?
That, or I see it acting like your standard combat affair, maybe with the dragon having a certain weak spot that you'll have to aim for.