Brute

Brutes were heavily-armored guards during the Renaissance. They donned durable armor and carried large, heavy weapons. They were one of the strongest guards; though this was offset by their slow movements due to the weight of their equipment.

Combat
Brutes were tricky enemies to defeat, due to the power behind each of their attacks; some of which could neither be blocked nor countered.

Normal attacks
Normal attacks of Brutes could be blocked with any weapon, however they could not be countered with a short blade or any sheath-able weapon.

A counter could only been performed with another heavy weapon, such as those the Brutes themselves carried, a long weapon often carried by Seekers, or by a Hidden Blade. The successful timing chance for the latter, however, was notoriously small, as one was given only a fraction of a second to react.

The normal attacks of Brutes could also be countered through a disarm, which left them open to a lethal, follow-up attack. The timing for the disarm was short, albeit slightly longer than that of the hidden blade counter.

Additionally, like all other enemies, Brutes were most easily dispatched by being assassinated either from above, or while undetected; with either the hidden blades, or a ranged weapon, such as the Hidden Gun or crossbow.

Special attacks
Neither of the Brute's special attacks could be blocked or countered, and could only be avoided by striking preemptively, or by dodging. There were two variants of a Brute's special attacks.

Smash
A Brute would perform a Smash by raising his weapon overhead, and taking a strong downward swing; knocking his target onto his back, and doing about as much damage as a normal attack.

The Smash special attack took less time for a Brute to prepare (approximately one second), in comparison to a Disarm Smash.

Disarm Smash
More forceful than an empty-handed disarm, a Brute performed a Disarm Smash by holding his weapon out behind him, then swinging it from right to left, breaking through an opponent's guard, and often knocking away his weapon.

The attack essentially did no damage, but as mentioned, it opened an enemy up to attacks from other foes in the fight, as well as the inconvenience of being without a weapon.

Characteristics
Brutes were not highly intelligent, and could be escaped once out of sight by blending, or hiding. They were also neither agile nor quick, and could not free-run or climb. Thus, taking to the rooftops was an easy method of escape.

Certain Brutes appeared to have a black-brown finish or trim on their armor plating, marking them as higher-ranked Brutes that were more resistant to enemy attacks. Brutes of Rome also bore unique, more intricate armor than their counterparts in other cities.

Additionally, Brutes rarely ran from a fight, even if forced to face an opponent alone; unless they were disarmed. Inversely, killing a Brute caused the other guards accompanying him (particularly those with lower ranks) to flee.

Special Brutes

 * Dante Moro carried a Labrys axe, and fought like a Brute; though with an immunity to being disarmed (unless through the Disarm Smash).
 * Bartolomeo d'Alviano behaved like a Brute in combat, and carried what appeared to be a Bastard Sword (although the design and coloring of the handle differed from those carried by Brutes), which he fondly called "Bianca."
 * Francesco Salviati carried a Bearded Axe with him when in his villa, and fought like a Brute.
 * Mercenaries also fought like Brutes, and carried similar weapons.
 * The Templar Spy from Ezio's trip to Spain resembled a Brute.
 * Some Papal Guards, when equipped with heavy weapons, would fight like Brutes.
 * Auguste Oberlin (the Blacksmith) fought like a Brute, and carried either a Bearded Axe (when he faced Ezio Auditore), or a large hammer.
 * Silvio Barbarigo, although initially unarmed, should he pick up a heavy weapon, he would behave like a stantard brute.

Trivia

 * Ezio uses certain taunts that are specific to Brutes, usually insulting their weight.
 * Among them are: "Can you even hear me in there metal man!?", "Well you're certainly well-fed!", "That looks heavy!", "Fatti sotto, porco! (Come on, pig!)", and "Ehi, grassone! (Hey, fatty!)"
 * In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Brutes are rarer, and harder to disarm than in Assassin's Creed II.
 * In the memory "Infrequent Flier," during the cutscene where Ezio abandons a burning Flying Machine, you can see a Brute and a Seeker on the roof of the Palazzo Ducale. Strangely, these are the only two guards that cannot free-run or climb.
 * When using the throwing knife special attack, Brutes can be killed with a single knife, despite their heavy armor.
 * In Assassin's Creed II: Discovery, Guard Captains possess the same appearance as Brutes, and are armed with Bastard Swords. However, unlike Brutes, they are extremely fast.
 * The Almogavars in Assassin's Creed: Revelations closely resemble Brutes in build and characteristics.

Source

 * Assassin's Creed II
 * Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood