Honestly, I prefer Werehog combat over Frontier combat, now that I think about it.
The "Skills" unlocked in Frontiers are just more powerful variation of attacks with flashy anime-like special effects. Wild Rush for example, you'd think the zig-zagging cause some confusion to the enemy but no, it just to look flashy. Some skills have practical uses such as the Sonic Boom which is good for ranged enemies, or more conditional ones like the one that looks like a bunch of grapes.
Werehog combat is more styled after traditional fighting games. While I admit some of the more special attacks are anime-stylized, they're more stylized from fighting games than needing an anime micro-cutscene for it and are usually pulled off with various combos.
Another thing, since when has Sonic been reliant on hand-to-hand combat? I can imagine it a Knuckles thing with his punch attack, but Sonic's preferred form of martial arts is his variation of spin attacks Smash Bros. and Battle proves he is stall capable of hand-to-hand combat, but he usually applies velocity to his attacks than physical strength.
