For clarification this is NOT an insult to Sword Saint, it's an incredible fight. Getting bronze at the olympics still means you're an olympic athlete. This is a compliment to Owl Father and Demon of Hatred.
Sword Saint, in my experience, is a very straightforward fight. He has long combos that you deflect. He has thrusts with varying timing that you have to mikiri deliberately, sweeps you jump, lightning you reverse. Fail any of these tasks and he hits like a freight train. He makes for an excellent final exam of the majority of the game's core combat and leaves room for skill expression with your tools and arts. But nevertheless, Isshin tells you what he's doing, then does it, and your job is to execute a specific counter flawlessly.
Owl Father is tricky. His combos vary in length and he can mix up the order he strings certain attacks together in. He can animation cancel or switch up what he's doing in reaction to what you're doing. For perilous moves he has a sweep in which he moves so far you don't usually get the stomp in, and a thrust he only pulls out after trying to stun or distract you with something else; he makes it difficult to execute the clear counter for those kinds of moves. Owl to me demands... not necessarily more attention but a different kind of attention. He demands more improvisation and creativity.
Demon of Hatred is a fantastic spectacle and showcase of the lessons the game teaches you. He tests your ability to deflect big combos, to deflect moves you think you couldn't deflect, to handle chip damage, to pick good arts/tools for the situation, to be intentional with positioning and use your step dodge. He tests your ability to pressure a boss without getting greedy and your ability to close gaps. And he also demands you use your movement and grappling hook mid-combat in a way that bosses like Gyoubu and Ape taught but which Demon takes to a higher level of difficulty and variety.
In various other circles I've seen bosses like Sword Saint described as waltz bosses, and bosses like Owl Father or Demon of Hatred described as swing dance bosses. And idk, for as fun as it is to get into a flow vs Sword Saint, I think the tricky qualities and variety in the Owl and Demon fights appeal to me more. I like the swing dancin. It's a good time.
What are your opinions/ranking on these three? Am I alone in my placement of Sword Saint or do I have a comrade out there somewhere
