Yeah, I know about paranoia combat from reading all the Exalted 2e threads on RPG.net. I know people had a problem with stacked persistants from 1e, but it turns out that the cure is a lot worse than the disease. Stacked persistants certainly worked out without any real problems in my 1e game.

I actually prefer rolling for defense anyway, though not necessarily when you also have to roll for damage and soak.