No, not at all. You just keep repeating "dumbed down" like saying it over and over it is going to make it true or something.
Oh, I understood what you meant and I think your idea is absolutely terrible. It's making the already mess of a system even messier. I want this mess cleaned up. We've had 4-point holds for 20 years and it hasn't been "done properly" once - let's maybe go back to the drawing board?
My suggestion is 2-point hold
(or 7H) and
(or 1H) that
requires meter.
a hold with meter nets you a counter hold / a hold performed while stunned would eat significantly more meter / a hold without meter only nets you a parry
Now the gameplay's about actually reacting to your opponent and managing meter and your other tools instead of memorizing lists.
But again, this is just one suggestion. I really wish they would test it though, even behind closed doors, just so I could know if it works or not in practice.
But honestly, what's the point of the meter right now? It's pretty pointless. Build it up for a dumb canned animation that you totally won't get tired of seeing after the second time. Meet X criteria so you can see Y animation - so just like Power Blows in 5 and Slope Throws in 2U/4? It adds absolutely nothing to the gameplay in its current iteration. We need a reason to have a meter and to care about it.