Secretlabz

100% agreed. I have to imagine they planned to do more with Unarmed but just... ran out of time to flesh it out? Then again, hand-to-hand was also extremely gimped in Oblivion and Skyrim despite both games having skills dedicated to it. Fallout 3, NV, and 4 had decent Unarmed potential with no major late-game viability issues, if I remember correctly (though it's been a while). Maybe Bethesda likes to take turns making Unarmed meme or meta with each franchise? I personally still love Unarmed despite everything as I find punching folks to ragdoll, especially in low gravity, just never gets old. But I've not played ballistics/laser weapons enough to be able to speak to compare it from a gameplay satisfaction-standpoint, if that makes sense. Plus, that enjoyment factor for Unarmed goes way down when you're fighting bosses with high HP and the slow kill time makes fights drag and results in taking too much damage. Yeah I'm still going to go into my unarmed playthrough, I am just hoping that the perks get a small overhaul. Going to try the less spongey enemies mod to see if it makes things feel a bit better.

This is exactly what I was thinking. I don't understand why Bethesda would include this as a playstyle if it would be a massive waste of time as you get further into the game? I feel like they should also get you some faster punches or more animations as you unlock martial arts and neurostrikes.