Fighting giants?

[Detective Costeau]

So, thee giant enemy fights aren't explained very well, but I've more or less figured out what you're supposed to do.
The one thing I can't figure out, however, is how to avoid getting smacked off. I know you can move around on the enemy while you're climbing, and I assume you're supposed to use that to dodge the attacks to knock you off, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to make it work- there doesn't seem to be any warning about where you need to be to not get knocked off, and the attacks to brush you off come out with so little windup I find it impossible to react in time. It wouldn't be so bad if these attacks didn't hit so bloody hard, but they do.
So far the only 'strategy' I can find is to just frantically stab as fast as you can and hope you kill the thing before it randomly knocks you off and takes off 90% of your health in the process, but I'm really hoping there's some better way to do this.

[peep]

Press C after 2-4 hits (depending on the giant) to drop off before you lose HP to whatever happens if you remain on it.

It took me awhile to figure out too but there's one awesome looking Giant boss who barely did any damage to me because I'd hit him 3-4 times then drop off before he could "attack me" while I was on his back.

[Detective Costeau]

Well, I feel silly. It didn't even occur to me to just jump off.

[andreacardinopf]

Theoretically, you are supposed to jump from one shoulder of the giant and grab on to the other, the same way your character does when climbing - in fact, the icon appearing on the opposite giant's shoulder when you're on their back is the same appearing on ledges.

In pratice, I was almost never able to perform this action, just as I was almost never able to jump from one ledge to another. As it stands, climbing mechanics appear ridiculously unresponsive.