Just throwing this out there, I know it deviates from what we've come to expect, but it's just a thought, not one I'd expect to see happen in the game, but a thought none the less.

So with Oblivion combining skills like Short Blade and Long Blade into Blade, what if the skills were divided into sub-skills

For example, lets say you pick Blades as a skill.

Using any weapon classified under blade (Wakizashi, Dagger, Broadsword) would obviously count towards that skill, increasing it's level would add to your overall level and granting all other bonus that accompany increasing a skill.

Then beneath that, all weapons types (Wakizashi, Dagger, Broadsword, or even simpler Short/Long Blade) would have a sub skill. These skills would increase like the skill itself, though perhaps not from 1-100. Leveling up these sub-skills would not add to your overall level, but would offer special bonuses, such as the level perks seen in Oblivion, like spinning attacks, or maybe stealth moves for the dagger and so on. So picking a specific weapon type and sticking with it would give more diversity to the character.

Oh, and I would LOVE to have a Rapier in the game.

What about a subskill for slash/chop/stab (I think those were the ones in Morrowind) and also for short/long, and each blade took short or long and also had a preference for one of the attack styles, so if you were trained in slash, you'd be better with a katana than a longsword.

I like this idea!

It reminds me of Secret of Mana's system.

I dont know. I like it the way it is. It would be okay if they did it right but I dont like it to feel too much like a game.