While standard thugs aren’t that much of a problem, I’ll focus on a few of the more dangerous enemies.

Knife Wielders: These guys can be either freebie takedowns or a serious pain in the ass. It's paramount to master the blade dodge takedown for these guys. What they think is their advantage is really their downfall.

Combat Specialist: These are like the League of Assassins characters from Arkham City. Time your strikes and when possible use an instant takedown to clear them from the battle. As I said above, mastering the blade dodge takedown is super useful when tackling a Combat Specialist and if you are playing on NG+ it’s key to know the animations (especially without the counter prompts), a standard counter has him holding his sword up high while a blade-dodge counter has him pulling back to the side.

Medics: If you see the white clad thugs, you should focus on taking them out first. They can revive unconscious thugs while also electrifying an attacker’s suit to make them invulnerable to standard attacks (like stun baton wielders). They aren’t the strongest but can pose a nuisance, especially with a large group. If they do happen to electrify an enemy, make sure to use the batclaw to cancel out the buff and deliver a slam with double damage.

Stun Baton Wielders: God I hate these asshats, most of the times I ruin an epic free-flow it’s because I didn’t neutralize them. The REC can be used to counter them and take out their batons for a short period. If you have the disarm and destroy special move (upgrade required), use it on these guys to take their weapons out of commission for good. Another option, especially when dealing with multiple stun baton wielders, is to quickfire the freeze blast to at least take out one for an extended period of time.

Shield Wielders: Another enemy type that can ruin a free-flow. Taking them down is simple, cape stun then double tapping the dodge button knocks them down. But like the stun baton wielders, you should focus on disarming and destroying any shields so noone else can pick them up. Dodge if you can’t take em down, but try to build up a high enough combo to take out their weapons. Personally I never had that much trouble managing them so I’d save disarm and destroy specials for other armed foes.

Armed Thugs: Too many can pose a threat, but freeflowing quickly between them can make all the difference. Be quick and if you can spare it (meaning no stun baton weilders or shield wielders) then execute a disarm and destroy on them. Lose your focus and you can get gunned down pretty quick, and if there are too many armed thugs don’t try to pull a Neo. You may be the goddamn Batman but you can’t control the Matrix.