If they made a return, I'm thinking Brutalities need to be more varied. They shouldn't all end in a explosion, some characters' brutalities should see all of the opponent's bones broken, or the victim disfigured, etc.

Kratos' savage beating of Poseidon in GOW3 is one example. Not to say Kratos has to return, though if he did that could be his brutality.

For Baraka's, he could slice up his opponents, but not mutilate them. Goro could constantly punch them in the face like he did to Art Lean in the first movie.

There could even be stage Brutalities. The name is self-explanatory. Stages with brutalities wouldn't necessarily have fatalities as well. As for the difference between stage brutalities and stage fatalities, stage fatalities would generally end more quickly. Brutalities are all about viciously beating or cutting up the opponent, or eye gouging, with some of them ending in explosions, but they (the explosions), along with skinning, decapitations and mutilations of any kind would often be saved for fatalities.

On a final note, you should have the ability to activate a X-Ray feature that allows you to see the effect a brutality has on the victim's bones, organs and muscles.