I bought DS1. Oof, it is indeed a bit clunky as many stated it would be compared to ER. I don't see myself getting totally engrossed into it but rather more of play it here and there over time, which is fine.
I'm still trying to finish ER on my fourth toon. This was my challenge character - no ash summons allowed and with a goal of beating it at the lowest level I could make it through. I figured the lack of a sidekick and reduced level bloat would offset having full knowledge of the game and boss mechanics at this point.
Some of the mini-bosses that make multiple appearances, such as the Draconic Tree Sentinels and Erdtree Avatars, were pretty much one shots everytime. That felt good considering how much trouble those fuckers gave me when I first started playing. But I also surprised myself on some of bigger bosses too - Margitt down 20, Godrick downed before 30, Rennala down before 40, Radahn went down at lvl 55, Fire Giant down at 102. Even Commander Niall, who I was really worried about given the 2 ghost soldiers he summons went down at lvl99. That one felt VERY nice.
I'm running with dual twinblades + Seppuku ashes and currently sitting at lvl 119. I have BC/Maliketh, Eden Lord/HL, Radagon/EB and then the optional bosses of Mohg LoB, DL Placidusax and of course Malenia before I finish. Maliketh has been fucking owning me hard but I have at least gotten him down somewhat close so I feel like he will eventually fall. Ditto for Mohg and the DL. As for the others though, I just don't have enough confidence in my skill to get them down short of leveling up quite a bit. 150 seems too high but maybe 140.