(I'm *sure* that there is probably a thread on this from when 5e first came out but... when I do a search for battle master or maneuvers I get gazillions of hits so... here's a new one )

I've seen several people post in passing that only 3-4 battlemaster maneuvers are actually any good. I'm not sure everyone agrees, but it seems to be a common opinion. But no one mentions what those maneuvers *are*. So I want to know which ones they are. But what I also wonder if some of those "bad" maneuvers couldn't be easily fixed.

Commander's strike:
I like the principle of this, but the problem is the action economy angle. So you are giving up one of our attacks *and* your bonus action (which you could have used for something else) to let someone use a reaction - which they might have been to use for an opportunity attack, or shield spell or whatever. If the action economy could be improved the maneuver would be better.

Disarming strike:
The real issue here is that the disarmed weapon is dropped at the opponent's feat... which they are then free to pick up on their turn with no penalty whatsoever, almost as if the disarming never happened! Boo. It is marginally useful if you do it then withdraw (your foe doesn't have his/her weapon to hit you with as a reaction) but appart from that... The maneuver would be *greatly* improved if the weapon was tossed 10 feet away... but it might be too powerful then?

Distracting strike:
This one is basically adding the "help" action to your attack (and a bit of damage). Seems good to me

Evasive footwork:
The use scenario of this is a bit narrow - increase your AC when moving - ie vs attacks of opportunities. When you need it it's great, but it won't be in every fight. Still not bad.

Feinting attack:
You give yourself advantage. This is similar to distracting strike, but you need a bonus action to make it work, making it strictly worse than distracting strike unless you have non allies.

Goading attack.
This is nice, because it is making yourself a bit "sticky" - it's a bit like a "taunt" effect.

Lunging attack:
You give yourself a bit more reach. Is this good? Seems a bit narrow in use... I can't tell.

Maneuvering attack:
The use case scenario is narrow, but in some specific situation this is *hugely* useful - cut off an escape route for example.

Menacing attack:
Making a creature frightened for a turn is a pretty good effect. This seems good

Parry:
I don't know what to think about this. It's dex dependent (so are battemasters dex fighters?). At first I was thinking "sweet, it's like casting shield!"... but then I realized I read it wrong - it's not AC, it's damage reduction. And it's only one attack. So now I don't know what to think of it.

Precision attack:
Could be pretty good, but the attack has to be one that counts - maybe combo this maneuver with another one so that one lands for sure?

Pushing attack:
Interesting. Does the creature trigger attacks of opportunity when it's pushed away? If so this maneuver is *awesome*. If not it's still good IMO

Rally: Could be a nice way to save someone's bacon by giving them a bit of extra HP in a tight spot... is this good? If not, why not?

Riposte: Seems good to me!

Sweeping attack:
Meh... maybe for dealing with mobs?

Trip Attack:
This is a free shove added to an attack. I think this is good because then the foe is prone and thus you and others now have advantage to hit it. Depending on the timing of the creature's action, this is better than feint or distracting attack. It also allows a dex fighter to be good at shoving.

So... is my analysis correct? Did I miss something?

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