I'd be happy with the escape mechanic simply being able to teleport to the other party member with the pyramid. If you're both in the same battle, then no escape for you.
I also hope some of the companions or henchmen have a pretty strong view on escaping and that the penalty for escaping is something pretty tangible like loss of reputation, getting evil glances from certain people, being able to intimidate less succesfully (since you're a wimp) or something. I played an RPG Maker game in which you could pay monsters so you don't have to fight. As a game mechanic, well okay, but it really doesn't make any sense to bribe jellies to let you pass peacefully.
