If you get the drop on enemies, you can end fights before they begin, even outside of sneaking. Having a general idea of where enemies are (and what they are) is very important for Unarmed/Melee - more than with Guns or EW. Many people use Unarmed/Melee as a second, third, or fourth run-through build. Specifically, if the targets are a) spread out and using high DAM weapons or b) high DAM, high health Unarmed/Melee opponents, you can have difficulty.
The circumstances make a big difference in Unarmed/Melee.
