Just had a quick session - it ended with the guardsmen having some…"Unscheduled Unarmed Combat Drills" in a local hostelry. One of the things that came up was the inability of comrades to protect their friends.

The guardsmen were facing two hacked-off civvies each - and were confident in their ability to pummel their first respective opponents into the ground, without needing an assist in the form of a Close Quarters action from their comrades.

However, they say, whilst we don't need help hitting, we really need help not getting hit. Since their comrades don't attack for them, and don't get attacked back (directly, anyway), they take two attacks a turn, and can't try and dodge both without using defensive stance - which means no return blows. They can make a guarded action then a standard attack rather than aim then standard attack, but it still doesn't help against two opponents.

The WS boost from close quarters is only really an offensive thing, and they'd prefer the option to say "watch my back" and have said comrade somehow prevent or at least reduce the effectiveness of opponent A whilst the PC concentrates on whaling on opponent B, which, to me, doesn't seem unreasonable.

I'd suggest either one or the other of the benefits of Defensive Stance (extra reaction or -20 WS) but not both, and making it a full action so you can't do both it and a Close Quarters action in the same round.