If u knew that kcd was this good, i would had give a fair shot years ago, just by looking at gameplay on YT i was bored, oh boy, i was wrong, here are some tips to help you If you decide to give another shot
Once you get to Rattay and got a horse all the parts are good, but i would recommend following the MQ and doing some bandits camp to get the combat, learn Master Strike as soon you got to Rattay and have fun, choose a weapon and stick to it in order to learn combos, combat is basic Parry>combo>kill
Once u are strong enough you ll be killing enemies in one hit after a master strike, like a true Knight.
Do some Theresa SQ for some hot action and do Hans SQ, they are awesome.
As soon you have your horse go learn how to read, its a game changer since you get lots of free skill points from books.
One last thing, combat is not the focus of the game even If its fun once you understand how it works, Its all about the joy of exploring the world, characters and stories that are presented to you.