Negotiations are the same but I don't say anything about it anymore because why would I keep voicing that complaint, but battle functions differently. Because auto is the default mode for battle in EP, it reminds me in a way of FFXII in that it's all about setting up your gambits for the fight and then walking away from it. In a way, it's nice, because outside of boss fights and the fucking annoying enemies who spam OHKO moves, you normally only punch in commands through one set of fairly straightforward menus at the start of a dungeon and then use that same set-up for the rest of the dungeon. Of course, I'm at this point in my life where I really want JRPG battles to be more engaging than "oh you can go get some chips cuz your victory is determined outside the battlefield."
Which is why I really prefer P4 and SMT4's battle systems. As bullshit as I felt SMT4 was at times (it was my first SMT game), battles were snappy. You had to pay attention, you had to think on your feet, and every battle, even random encounters, could turn on you if you treated it like a trash fight. In P4 battles were fun, because the game had a lot of clever things going on in battles, like bikes and punts and all outs and card shuffling shit.
To be honest, the only thing I feel that modern Persona is missing from old Persona games is 1) Firearms, since the use of firearms in tandem with more classic RPG weapons is something of an SMT standard and 2) a chance for the characters' personalities to come into play more in battle. Like, in P1-P2EP negotiation really lets your party show off who they are in funny, quirky ways. P4G gets this done through the above mentioned things like bikes and punts and shit, but if there was a way to combine the two into something which was fun, nonobstructive, and quick-paced it'd be a great addition to the formula.