Does anyone have tips on dealing with multiple enemies in Warband? It seems like as soon as I get mobbed by multiple enemies then a KO is imminent since I can't land any attacks in, and I can't run.
There are generally only two attacks that work when an enemy, or enemies, is face hugging you: Left slash and overhand. These two work because they enter the damage part of the arc pretty much right away. All strikes have an acceleration stage in their attack that will practically do nothing if the weapon connects during this part of the swing.
The overhead has the advantage of not bumping into anything (usually), when surrounded or otherwise. The two main cases where it would be interrupted is if you are fighting in a low ceiling area or something obstructs you from above, the other case is if someone is standing directly behind you and is close enough and your sword is long enough that the swing starts within the person behind making the overhand slash connect during the accelerating phase of the strike.
The left swipe is an immensely useful attack for close quarters due to how little the attack is spent in the acceleration phase. You can pretty much prep the swing, turn right, look down, and release the attack with almost immediate effect. There are even situations where you can slice through destructible doors and gates due to how fast it connects in relation to physics bumping.
Aside from this, the best defence against multiple attackers is just not to get surrounded by them in the first place. Athletics is an immensely useful skill that will help you keep alive, knowing how the AI works also helps so you can move around and keep them in a rough line in front of you.