I do think the current Master Trait restrictions are far too strict, and a lot require traits that aren't necessarily useful. I'll never take Gun Kata, for example - as I don't find a use for hellrunner with pistols. On the other hand, if you use shotguns without Army of the Dead, you're at a huge disadvantage, thanks to double armor effectiveness against shotguns. To ensure that your shotguns are effective against later enemies, you have to follow the build for that master trait.
Dervis's dodge idea has a tremendous amount of potential. The problem with dodging now is that most of the time you don't get a chance to act offensively despite dodging. Suppose you're facing a few ordinary enemies and if you fire, you probably can't finish them all and will take a hit from their retaliatory fire - so you sidestep instead. Perhaps the RNG goes your way, and you dodge their shots. But once again you're facing the same enemies, who will get another chance to fire at you. The only way dodging lets the player gain some advantage is if you're trying to close the distance to attack in melee, or perhaps a bit closer with your shotgun (still a big risk!), or if the enemy, most likely alone, needs to reload.
Dervis's proposed idea could lead to a sidestep's effect lasting 1+ turns beyond the turn used to sidestep, so after a sidestep you're not necessarily in a similar situation as before. After a 'good' dodge, the player gains a turn where enemies will likely still miss him, but he actually gets a chance to take an offensive action before needing to dodge again. Depending on how the numbers are designed, it could lead to a new way of playing - sidestep, shoot (or reload), sidestep, shoot, etc.