If I'm gonna try and pick a fight with a larger group of badguys, I usually try and stick to this simple routine:
1) Darkest night in the middle of the group. Wanna try and get as many of them covered as possible, cause getting killed by their first volley blows.
2) Tar Patch to keep them from scattering too much.
3) Line up Fearsome Stare for maximum badguy coverage and ... uh... stare fearsomely. This will further debuff their accuracy (though I'm not sure exactly how much more) and it will keep them busy trying to decide whether to miss you or run away.
From that point I Petrifying Gaze when needed and reapply Fearsome Stare and Tar Patch as necessary. Fights still take forever, but I get killed a whole lot less when the badguys are too afraid to hit and too slow to get away
