I will have to agree with the OP about this. The game is great, and I enjoy it a lot - but it is not smooth like WoW, which I think is a perfect example on how to integrate your actions completely into a character that you've made. It's like "the second I hit this button, I expect it to happen, because it's what I want to happen. Not .35 seconds later."
The best word I can find to describe the condition of (generally) combat (and mostly in PvP), is "clunky."