>>63890404
Depending on the kind they will actively fuck with many balancing and handling aspects of a sword and whilst it's not strictly "combat" a sword is useless if you can't draw it properly when you need it. Not to mention that after a certain degree "extra protection" is just superfluous even assuming that you aren't WEARING hand protection. Never at any point have I felt that a simple disc guard doesn't provide enough protection. Even a crossguard with nagels or side-rings will handle quite differently due to all the extra mass and balance.