My main problem with the games is that it never feels like being an assassin compared to games with real stealth gameplay.
Exactly, this is one of my main issues with the game. I don't think Ubisoft ever really got the 'assassin' part of the game down, and instead starting adding in other elements. Or at least not what I was fully expecting from an assassin game, anyway. With that said I did still enjoy the games, and I will no doubt end up getting AC3 at some point.