I am currently testing SnS + Hatchet, and I feel pretty confident that your conclusion is wrong:
First, they have extremely similar raw damage and scaling.
So the base damage should be about the same, but:
the complete 3-hit sword combo takes about 135 frames before you can initiate another combo, averaging 45 frames per attack. The hatchet makes the full 4-hit combo in about 160 frames. which translates into an average of 40 frames per attack. In practice, the hatchet is faster.
And the “Accumulated Power” trait means that the last hit in the chain has 30% empower.
Note: the counted frames are not 100% accurate there are too many influencing factors such as fluctuations in fps and latency, but it is an average, but the conclusion remains unchanged.
(Faster attacks mean more responsive dodges.)
If I have not forgotten anything the constant buffs in the swordmaster branch are 2: Leadership (elite) and Precision:
Leadership is comparable to Aganist All Odds, since you always fight with at least one enemy, the 10% bonus is to be considered permanent. And it’s better than Leadership as it multiplies for every enemy within range. Note: Thanks only to AAO I have had circumstances where I did 3.5k light attack damage, with only 250 STR points.
The only constant trait of the sword more than the hatchet in the offensive branch is the 10% critical chance derived from “Precision”. Meanwhile all the other activatable buffs of the hatchet are equal to or significantly better.
And no one seems to consider berserk, which practically gives 20% damage, 20% haste, 30% HP regen, uninterruptible attacks, and a stunbreak for 50% of the time. And let’s not forget Defly Death, 3 seconds of DPS YOLO mode.
This, basically allows facetanking while doing damage and helps a lot to maintain the combo Relentless Fury buff > Accumulated Power + Fortifying Strike, and a constant DPS.
Honestly, I sometimes even doubt that SnS is a better tank than hatchets, all things considered.