I found one thing: pike + aimed attacks = ownage. Skewered one night creature this way as my first quest. Also, made bogeyman-onna-stick with my trusty pike. For that matter, pike sucks against large groups of bogeymen.
Wrestling also tends to be highly effective, at least against more mundane creatures like bandits and goblins. Even with a low wrestling skill, they don't seem to dodge your attempt to grab their throat and choke them, and it only takes one or two more turns afterward to put them unconscious. You can then stab/bash their head for a high chance of jamming their skull through the brain. It seems like an easy way to thin large packs of enemies, though I don't recommend it for titans/night creatures (too large/strong, it'll shake off your grip, assuming it even has a throat to choke) or leaders (they'll dodge your attempts, easier to take out a leg or foot to slow them down, then hit them with opportunities and let them bleed out, to minimize the chance they'll get a lucky shot at you).
Incidentally, isn't twisting supposed to cause pain? Even mundane creatures don't seem to succumb to pain as often as I'd expect them to, especially compared to my adventurers, where I'm always unconscious a few turns after pain appears. Is that a factor of attributes? I completely minimize most of the mental stats, since the adventurer manual said they are completely useless (except kinesthetic and spatial sense).