Wondering if it's a coincidence or intentional that Khazeem in the second game and the werewolves here choke out Mezz as part of how they corrupt him. Like how to escalate stakes by making the new enemies more of a threat than the previous boss. Khazeem had to do it several times and overload Mezz with Dragon's Breath, while the werewolves are using physical might and magic but are the standard enemy.