[ericthered]

A little bit of repeating what others have said:

Shields. Shields are an awesome counter to just about anything but guns and artillery. You point out that you can only block once. Shields don't just help with blocking. Shields add to your dodge score as well. Of course, that might not feel very "swash-bucklery"

Acrobatic dodge. Use it whenever possible. its awesome, and it makes you look awesome.

The approach. Stealth has been mentioned, but you can also take cover behind these annoying rocks, approach from the wrong side of the hill, and generally play the maneuver game. You can also present yourselves as non-threatening and get them to come within shouting distance, then pull out your hidden weapons and go to town. Or, speaking of town, engage them in an urban environment.