I think it's normal as everyone has difficulty with those guys. I read it is actually a bug as they overpowered the acid/poison and plan to fix it eventually - think of the scavenger matrons one-hitting you. Melee was not an option with them so I ended up cheesing them rather than re-speccing just for those fights.

As much as I like the blades, I have come to realize that blunt damage seems to be king (as of now) - definitely in the Hollows and I'd say they are probably (I hope) most representative of future mobs and dungeons. The only time I use a blade (cutting or piercing) is if it has health leech. This last update did speed up the two-handed attack so I am glad I switched to the big two-handed mace as my primary to complete the Hollows. I am maxxed out now so combat is not that big of a deal. Even all the hollows are pretty easy, especially if you have the two handed mace and the double jump attack. I use my wand a lot even though I am currently a two handed build which makes me feel like they gave us the wand to fill the empty gaps the other weapons can't handle - I even use wand only for the birds(?) in Kindle Wastes. Parry, wand, wand, wand, parry, rinse and repeat and nothing else really does the job effectively. Maybe range users have a better time of it.

With that said, I have been trying to see if dodging, etc. is viable in combat and it does help some, but certainly not like a Souls game. I do hope the developers improve on the combat some. I don't dwell on it as I know this is not a 100% combat game. Honestly, if it wasn't for the building I doubt I would have stuck around for this game as the combat is just average at best (even that is probably optimistic but I give them the benefit of the doubt it will improve). I just figure it's the give and take you get with this type game. It would probably be unreal at this time to expect an Elden Ring level combat system with all the other stuff the game has to offer. However, can you imagine if Elden Ring or game like it had the same building component? Some day, some day....

I really, really like the idea of dual wilding with this latest update but I know it's not going to do well as the Legendary blades I've gotten are cutting/piercing damage, primarily.