Twilight Princess can keep its realistic, heavy-armoured, rapier-using ones. Link's Awakening can have its tiny stabbing sprites. Yes, I'm talking about Darknuts, definitely my favourite monster in the Zelda series.
For all intents and purposes, they're just armoured, sword-wielding soldiers, but this is all that's necessary. No other enemy really lives up to the potential for one-on-one combat. No other enemy is so engaging when first encountered, or so difficult to fight off when in numbers. Darknuts really are the greatest of regular opponents whenever they appear in Zelda games. Their variation in The Wind Waker, also adds a curious dimension.
Sure, they're more cartoony, in keeping with the art style. And they're a bit formulaic to fight if you know what you're doing. But, unlike any other Darknut, you're actually shown what's inside all of that armour in The Wind Waker. And what is? A wolf.
This makes great sense, since Moblins, Ganon's classic minions of choice appear in this game. Plus, though it may not be considered canonical by some, there was at least one enemy wolf monster in the CD-i Zelda games (popularly known as the "Dark Triforce," by Zelda fans).
Even if you deny that those strange asides have any bearing on the main series, the Wolfos from Ocarina of Time, thousands of years after appearing in that game, could have grown in Ganon's esteem. Not to mention, they may also have evolved to a point where they became completely bipedal and interested in martial arts. Such an evolutionary step may even have been necessary to adapt to the flooded world in which The Wind Waker takes place.
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