I mentioned it in another thread, but it was kind of unrelated to that topic, so I'm bringing it back up for more focused discussion.

Basically, it requires that when you block an attack using your weapon instead of shield, you must hit the block button right before the enemy weapon hits you for shielding effect, otherwise you still get hurt. This is due to the FACT that if you just hold your weapon up there and wait for the enemy to attack, he'll just find another spot to get you.

If anyone remembers playing the good old Princess of Persia for DOS, you actually have to press the parry key at the right moment to block the attack, so it's nothing new...

The down side is that the timing might be a little hard to learn. I remember once M&B implemented this timed parry (and shield blocking), and I got so busy during a fight trying to parry that I wasn't able to block anything.

Any thoughts?

it would be cool for a finisher if the enemy had low health and you parry his attack and do a cool kill animation

I think it'd be wicked. Clashing like in Dark Messiah or Demon's Souls. Would add a bit of tactics to the combat. The lack of this in the melee combat of Oblivion was a massive issue for me!

if they can make the learning curve right then it'll be good

I'd like this for a single weapon combat as you mentioned.

Another thing about timed parry is that when you successfully parry an attack, you hear a satisfying "ding" which feels very rewarding lol

Don't fix what isn't broken.