I think it's much simpler combat, and Witcher 3 attempts to be deeper and give more options. But ultimately I can find ES combat satisfying due to successfully implementing its admittedly rudimentary mechanics. It's simple, but also responsive and I generally always know what's going to happen and where my PC will end up after a maneuver.
In W3 it's like you're gliding on roller skates while just as often as not the player agency is taken away as Geralt might do a pirouette or charge forward seemingly at random. And if he twirls in a circle, despite my lack of desire for him to do so, I can always expect to either take damage or wind up in a completely different position than I prefer.
I think W3 combat has more options, it's deeper and more complex. It just happens to be clumsy and unpredictable, and at the end of the day the best strategy is still always to just roll away or dodge and strike after the enemy misses. So most of the options are rendered moot when enemies are beaten so easily by the systems most mundane maneuver.
However I'd also say combat is a more important mechanic for W3, since the game doesn't have the same sense of world building and scope that something like Skyrim has. As much as I played W3, I never just got lost in it which is an experience Bethesda games are superb at creating.
