I made a similar thread some weeks ago called Weapon feedback.
...lot of good comments and suggestions there if you like reading!
I'm on console so gun fights with bunny hoping PC players are rough. I've resorted to cunning, stealth, misdirection, and guile to outwit foes like in loopey tunes (really censor!); but my execution needs work, haha! Atleast I'm playing like a pirate ;)
I too also know the pain of a blunderbus at point blank. If the gun made players walk bit slower I'd be okay with it since it is an extreme CQC weapon.
Sword combat has good bones; though the press guard while charging sword thrust to move at normal speed; and then jumping off ledges and bunnyhoping to go flying forward creates a skill gap and feels like an exploit not a feature. I dislike games where animation canceling is a feature of high skill play... It makes "reading" the game really difficult. If you can't join em, give up!
I also feel sorry for the pistol. It's a good gun and I wish I could carry one as a back up weapon and use it in my off hand when carrying a cutlass.
It'd be nice if two other melee weapons are added to complement the short, mid, and long archetypes of guns. Knife, Cutlass, Boarding axe / pike was suggested in my post.
Also lot of requests for throwbacks bombs like Molotov. Maybe can make a bomb from cannonballs. It'd be fun throwing a hot potato between friends and foes.