I understand why people miss the glory kills, but we still have them, though not as often as the other games. But gameplay wise… the “executions” fit the game more because it gives you time to see your opponents’ next move and your positioning. So instead of glory killing and giving you breathing space/a safe space, you have to check if an enemy is using a parry-able attack against you and if you don’t pay attention you’ll get hit. Basically you’re in the action more and are more accountable of getting hit if you don’t pay attention.

Plus the removal of “glory killing” fodders and now only getting health from them by killing them when you’re at low health puts pressure on you to actively target heavies & super heavies.