If I remember the comics correctly, Michonne's sword is part of her backstory. Nothing elaborate, it's just that she happened to live next door to a martial arts/sword fanatic and that's what she grabbed when the dead started beating down the door. In terms of realism, remember these things (and their European & Middle Eastern equivalents before anyone starts throwing around fanboy epitaphs) are meant to cut through meat, bone and at the very least, basic leather armour. Not just arms and legs either. They were supposed to go in under the armpit, slice through the collar and shoulder bone and sever the head. Next to that, a rotting corpse is going to hold up about as well as warmed butter wrapped in soggy tissue paper. I think World War Z mentions the use of edged weapons of all sorts being very viable, even preferable alternatives to firearms when faced with walkers in manageable numbers. I think one bloke even uses an actual antique claymore! They have two main advantages: 1) they're quiet. Nothing like the crack of a gunshot to alert every zombie within two miles (yes, the noise does travel that far, trust me.) And 2) short of the blade dulling or breaking, you're not about the run out of ammo or reload. As far as Daryl's crossbow goes, it's sort of the best of both worlds. The longer than arms-reach range of a gun, with the stealth of a blade and for bonus points, the ammo is quickly recoverable. Yeah, against a oncoming horde it's not a lot of good, but that's not the point. The point is to not take on a horde because without anything short of a .50 cal and a warehouse full of reloads, that's suicide. What a crossbow, sword or silenced pistol is for is to quietly take out the odd one or two that's a direct threat.
What Darryl's Crossbow does provide him though, is a sturdy whacking weapon for a close call, and you can whack a bunch to push them away from you if you swing wildly in close quarters. We've seem him save his own giblets a few times like that
I think it was Max Brooks' "Zombie Survival Guide" that posited a new weapon for the US Army, which was sort of a straightened shovel with a T-handle at the end that could easily be used as a spear or blunt weapon against zombies, plus be used as a trenching tool and to effectively block attacks too. I can't find it on the internet, but it sounded really neat as an example of backwards thinking when the more traditional methods of pumping lead into the center of mass of your target doesn't work, and few people could be trained to successfully headshot the undead with consistent results, and you'd run out of ammo eventually anyway and NEED a backup weapon better than a survival knife. Mark
^Yeah, let's face it. Human teeth and claws are some of the least threatening in the animal kingdom. A hockey mask, plus thick leather pants, gloves and a slicker with a hood ought to be enough to shield you from an attack by multiple walkers
Screw Atlanta, and all of Georgia for that matter. I'd have headed north into rural N. Carolina long ago. Heck, even some homemade chainmail could work in high heat
Yeah, one would think they would have Rick's gang find somewhere else to live, instead of being on farms and prisons close to major highways where so many people seemed to have met their end. In other words, armies of walkers are always nearby, so there's no end to the danger.
Cades Cove , TN. That place is hidden like the vale of Rivendell. It was a farming settlement, natural protection with the mountains, and not too far for them to reasonably make it to.
In that case you're still about half a millennium off. It is a good thought though. If it can work for sharks it can certainly work for zombies.
Okay, where will this go? Rick vs. Daryl? You know who hooks up with the Governor (and/or the new threat) and using knowledge of the prison's situation, returns to settle matters--whatever direction that takes? Everyone else turns against Rick--with the exception of Carl, and they go off on their own? If the group goes in different directions, they all come together when the new threat is close to finishing the survivors off?