We play that you get your "basic" DB + armour bonus to everyone. Parry you ONLY get against the person you attack. The shield can be used either against the person you attack, or an opponent on your "shield side". The only way we allow parrying two opponents, is by using 2-weapon combo (which therefore is a very useful skill). We allow the shield DB (but NOT parry) against both "rider and mount", as they attack you from the same side.
This is very "by the book". It DOES make it hard to go up against multiple opponent, but I like that. You CAN engage two opponents if you either have good armour and shield or use 2WC, but they better not be too tough. Going alone against MORE than 2 would be extremely dangerous, which I think is fine. And then, of course, magic comes into play.
What strikes me most here, is how VERY different we all use the rules! It's a "play it your way" game, indeed! It seems like parry should have a thread on its own, where we all describe how we use it and what effects that lead to :-)
Yammahoper: I was thinking something like that for recovery after speed myself. Being totally defenceless (no parry) seems like a very high price to pay.
rdanhary: Nice reply. I need to see these things happen in order to really make up my mind, though.