Ye olde Wild Boards, Snappers, Shadowbeasts, Ripperbeasts and Monster tactic: swing, step backward and a wee bit to the side, step backward, repeat. If the creature is too close, go for the quick strike. Usable against two at the same time, but you'll have to retreat in such a way they're always both in front of you (so you can stop both attacks with your swing). Doesn't work if you're backing up a slope, but works even better if you're going downhill. The only difference between monsters is the amount of time you'll have to do this - expect to take a while against Monsters. Generally usable on most other creatures, except wolves - which are still a mistery to me, since they strike too fast for me to interrupt them.