DaCostaBR: Going back to DMC3 which I do think is the best in the series, the AI in that game adapted to how you played, if you favored melee too much enemies would start spawning far away from you, and if you used your guns too much they'd spawn right in your face. See, I felt like that did a better job at keeping me moving and changing my tactics instead of falling into a rut.
And that is what I mean that you need to assess the combat and adapt your strategy, this do create a staccato instead of a flowing rhythm. You needed to adapt to different situations, and when you got "in the flow" the game changes and demands a re-adaptation instead of trying to keep you in that rhythm. Purley game-mechanical, this is what I would say is a more western than a eastern approach. Comparing the dmc games, I would say that DmC is closer to the first than any of the other games.
DaCostaBR: But I must disagree on DmC being more fluid, between the weapon restrictions on enemies, and them being damage sponges but not actually difficult the game felt slower, I could take my time doing anything because the enemies took so long to attack and once I had them on a corner all I had to do was button mash for a while until they died.
By fluidity, I mean the fluidness of the actual combat mechanics, not the fluidity of game (or narrative) progression. Damage sponges can create extremely fluid combat, as you get than into a very steady rhythm of attack and defence :)
The need to change weapons a lot are also tactical decisions, and tactical decisive combat and fluid combat tend to end up non-fluid. Keep in mind, neither tactical or fluid is better or worse than the other, but people tend to like one or the other. I guess you like the tactical and strategical aspects of an action game (I tend to do so...).