It's also important to realize that some attacks are slower than others. The last attack in an attack chain, for example, can take noticeably more recovery time. I've been playing around with tactical shielding using Caliburn recently. If you shield, slash once, and then shield again, it's surprising how little time it takes for that single slash. Charging while running away, turning around to release, and then immediately shielding to avoid retributive strikes has also been quite helpful. If you spend some time practicing your sword and shield work to see what your actual limits are (the lobby is great for this) you can get a lot more effective in a surprisingly short amount of time.

There's a significant amount of skill at timing and the like that you're only just starting to get into now.