This is actually one of the worst steps back in the series. DS3 (and of course Twitchborne) did some input reading, but nothing on the level of Elden Ring. If you want a perfect example, go up in that fort in Caelid with the lion critter in the courtyard and just fire off fucking arrows in any direction. The critter literally jumps when the arrow is released. I know that guy is trying to be all technical, but seriously the AI reacting to animation cues that a human player cannot even see is the very definition of input reading. Its irrelevant if its using a startup frame of an animation vs actual button presses, the result is exactly the same. Add in the amount of feints and move cancels they let the more hyper aggressive mobs do and its basically rendering every fight a RNG twitch fest (something I hated about Bloodborne).
And sadly, I think its here to stay because I don't think even smart devs like From know how to make a better AI beyond input reading, feint spam, and turning the aggression knobs up to 11. Look at the enemies people bitch about the most and they all have the same things in common: Crazy aggression, massive amounts of instant punish attacks with no startup and huge hit boxes, ridiculous poise, and lots of stun/stagger/knockback. The fucking Runebears, Crucible Knights, Grafted, and every god damn gargoyle are all like this. So people just avoid them and only fight them when they have to. Its just frustration with no good payoff.