Yes, they are definately more brutal. Blood, and various death moves, impaling, etc. I`ve also read that people get dismebered if hit by canonballs. (And that bodyparts can be sent flying across the battlefield by the blast)
Personally I cant wait to start lobbing dead cows into castles.
Oh, and the largest castles - the citadels - have two inner defence walls, so you can literally be fighting from gate to gate, in defence or offence.
