Also I want to reiterate what someone else said: You regen stamina while walking. As opposed to sprinting, which drains it. In these group encounters, walking around is usually more than enough to keep you from getting hit. Enemies stop to take a swing, and if you keep moving, they arent going to hit you. You mentioned not having enough stamina to block or dodge. Well, walking is the better alternative, because its better than free, it slightly restores stamina while you're doing it!