As my Doom skill level has increased, I have also found maps in general much easier, and free saving has been part of the reason why - if I do particularly badly in a fight, I can usually reload, and within another 1-2 tries, I can usually crack it with a decent amount of health remaining.
After being spoiled by games like Dark Souls with complex, resource-based save systems, I have started to find 'save anywhere' systems more and more imbalanced over time.
