How were they changed? What’s the basics.

I hope that swords being good isn’t as reliant as you say on those specific perks.

Well, swords won't be so powerful against Champions after Disrupting Blade is gone, and Passive Guard makes a HUGE difference in how long you can stand at the feet of a boss and whack his ankles without getting crushed (I've found this out a couple of times when I forget to swap the appropriate class item). They'll still be good - but not quite to the level they're at now, I don't think.

I hope that swords being good isn’t as reliant as you say on those specific perks.

For what it’s worth, I have been doing great with swords without any of those perks (and I mainly use Zephyr, which has a static “enduring guard” roll, which is deemed mostly useless by Fallout). They’re pretty great on almost any enemy, although the lunge is wonky still (I occasionally swing past enemies with the heavy swing).

Squid didn't hesitate. "Steel Sybil with Relentless Strikes and Whirlwind Blade."

He spends a lot of time explaining all of the different possible perks, and settles on what he considers to be a god roll:

Relentless Strikes and Whirlwind Blade.

This really just feeds into my vault hoarding obsession. DIM tells me I have a Steel Sybil, along with an Abide the Return, with those perks. I haven't played this season but from what you've said, the perks from this season's artifact play a big role in why that combination is so much fun. Every weapon is one patch away from being a god roll.

...if you don't use it!

Just having it in your vault doesn't help you have fun. Taking it OUT of your vault does... but none of the posts you've made recently suggest that you do much of that. :)

I was in exactly the same boat you find yourself in right now - the need to ensure that no fantastic roll gets deleted accidentally. The only way I keep things under control is by telling myself that if I haven't touched the damn thing in a year, I don't need it, regardless of what the meta changes to.