At the point we criticize walking as a flawed mechanic, don't we just have to say "we don't like fighting games"?
At the end of the day, no arrangement of system mechanics is going get you around the fact that other players aren't going to just let you run in and whack buttons all day. At some point you have to deal with fact that you are going to have to think about your opponent's options and the things they are going to try to do to get out letting you do whatever it is you are trying to do.