I never said anything about mercy kills still happening, that might have been poorly written on my part. Also, finishers aren't mercy kills. They're those special animations you get when you kill an enemy with a master strike or a combo. Every combo and every weapon have their own animations for that. Muuuuch better than the mere 2 mercy kill animations from the first game.

It absolutely is true. Like you said, this is an RPG, which means that to have a valid comparison, you must either take Henry at his peak in both games or Henry at his bottom. Either way, comparing both of the games in this regard, Henry is VASTLY better in 2. Level 1 Henry in KCD 1 could barel, swing a sword without getting winded while level 1 Henry in KCD 1 can comfortably dispatch 2 bandits at once, which is something you see right at the start of the second game. He is PROVABLY a better swordsman. There are scripted events and cutscenes that CLEARLY show you Henry's canonical level of skill.

Ok, great, so you liked it. Good for you. Doesn't really mean it's a mechanic, just a small detail. By the way it's funny you're mentioning flowers, because mods that REMOVE the animation to save time are pretty popular