Woop, I didn't expect this change but it seems to make poles viable again.
I only wish more weapons would have their own animation-sets that could be tweaked into something useful, you wouldn't use an axe the same way you use a mace or a sword in real life, especially a long polesword or halberd. Weapon skills should change the animations instead of damage so you could do more funky builds. Maybe whole new skillset that teaches different weapon-techniques.