>>716200232Weapons all have their own wince, stagger and break (limb pops and such I believe) stats that scale with damage upgrades.
You can finish off the zombie-ganados with a single shotgun shell most of the time on pro, even before they stand up you don't need to use a knife, it's a calculation you make based on risk and what resources you have on hand
eg, you need to be close and at a good angle to blast them, or have the time to take careful aim with a rifle, whereas knife execution sucks to target and gets big i-frames, also if you have a consumable knife with very little durability left it's an efficient expense. Durability upgrades make a huge difference but I'll grant that it's not really worth pumping them for most of the game if you're using 4, or 3 of the more expensive guns.
I'll at least grant that I like Salazar's granny looking ass a lot less, though he won me over a bit with his battle dialogue.