Just gotta say that I agree with Garnett 100% that the differences in the combat between Skyrim and Amalur is not minutia, it's what you're spending the majority of your time doing, and if you've chosen to go the melee route, there's no contest, Amalur does melee combat better in every way.

As to the effectiveness of the roll... my frame of reference for that sort of thing would be something like Monster Hunter or Phantasy Star Zero, games where once you've hit the attack button, you've just committed yourself to the entire attack animation come hell or high water, so the ability in Amalur to cancel out of an attack and then chain a quick roll directly into a fat roll immediately felt very generous.

The difference is in the two games I mentioned (but especially in Monster Hunter) your stats are secondary to your technique. Amalur hits, I think, a better balance in that knowing when and how to attack and dodge are still important, but that your loot and how you spec out your character have a more substantial impact on your chances for success.