I think the bastard sword answer may be triggered by the "one hit, one kill" answer, since with a sword that size, you've got good odds of ending the fight right then and there if you connect.

(Of course, if it misses the wielder may be in trouble, since it isn't going to be easy to reset for another great blow...and using a sword that size would make having a shield difficult.)

It'd be interesting to know how the bastard sword compares to the falcata in terms of hitting power. Seems like the latter would be a lot more mobile without much loss in overall cleaving ability, but I'm certainly no expert on this.