I found the sliding down ladders in DS thing by accident. Was climbing down a ladder and accidentally pressed "O". Was like, O.o
When I need to "pause" the game, I just quit to the main menu since it picks up literally where you left it at, and as far as I've seen, the enemies don't respawn till you actually rest at a bonfire.
Also, I hated the camera controls when I started, but then I remembered I could invert them so all is good now. As for movement/battle responsiveness, I've yet to notice any kind of input lag or anything. Just about any delay I come across is because I was either staggered or ran out of stamina. As for the combat, I myself love how unforgiving it is to even your most minor of mistakes. Which goes a long with the slow and steady approach to combat it kind of forces upon you.