Personally, I do mod out the skill loss but keep the corpse runs.

So, second issue, why are you being knocked into the water? That almost never happens to me.

Are you using the hoe to make dry paths? Any place you see cattails is shallow enough to make a path. The swamp becomes much easier to navigate when you make your own dry ground.

Are you trying to shield tank everything and they're pushing you around that way? If you are parrying, you should be pushing them around. If you aren't parrying then blocking with a shield is not the best way to fight. Get an atgeir, use the secondary attack, and knock them back instead. Or keep using your mace or sword and get mobile. The best way to mitigate an attack is to not be where it lands. You can do that by walking around like the greydwarves do. I only bring out my shield for archers, and then only to get behind a tree and make them come to me. Remember to soften them up with your bow from a distance whenever possible. Standing there with the shield up to block wastes your stamina for no gain on your part, and it is worse if you haven't eaten enough good food. If you haven't found turnips yet, then your food is not up to swamp level.