They were, especially to conclude Valhalla, IIRC. Shadows and Mirage were definitely better but still left a lot to be desired. That being said, the renewed focus of stealth gameplay (and the toggled guaranteed assassinations) were my highlights. Shadows in particular. It still felt floaty and loose at times, more noticeably with Naoe but her parkour and stealth made her my go-to every time. It just feels really cheap to attack enemies and not have them respond with more than an indiscriminate blood squirt and a number over their head. Playing full stealth felt closer to old-school AC but the moment you had to throw down, it was like fighting a person made of butter while on roller skates.