Characters dying right after combat is too common I agree. They are usually poisoned and on fire, and when real time starts there's very often not time to cast a heal or drink a potion.
Yes, definitely.
Also, it'd be nice to pause before initiating combat. Sometimes I want to wait until a juicy target wanders just in range of a spell, or an oil patch that I can reach with a spell. But in real time, they can wander back out again before the spell goes off.
