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Impact of knives, etc.
It's a fine question. The answer, for the purpose of these rules, is pretty simple: I'm only working with the assumption that basic hits do measure impact, for knives or fists or maces or any hand weapon. If there's a problem with knives delivering too much sheer impact in the game, then that's a problem not for EP rules alone, but for any GURPS rules dealing with that impact (effects of knives vs DR, knockback from knife attacks, effects of knife attacks on other weapons, etc.).
I don't know that knives actually do deliver far too much impact in the game. After all, a fist can deliver tremendous (even deadly) impact; should a large knife really deliver much less impact? It is a hard metal object, and to some degree, the mass and power of the fist/arm also add to its impact.
If, however, you feel that impact should be lower, then I would rework the rules to reflect that (whether or not EP rules are being used – and, as you suggest, whether we're even talking about GURPS or about your own system). In particular, I think impact from a thrust knife should be on par with a punch (even able to pierce armor), so impact shouldn't be too low. But I also think that swing impact would rely more on a weapon's own mass, with less added effect from the fist/arm. Especially for a small knife, impact should perhaps be quite low (as you suggest), giving a razor or other small knife little ability to bludgeon through armor, and low damage against flesh if simply used to "hack" like an axe or other large weapon. In place of high impact, I think such a weapon should have a good ability to "slash" – that is, draw along the target for an attack that delivers low basic hits, but a higher damage multiplier vs flesh than normal cutting.
GURPS doesn't make that distinction; maybe you're planning to do so in your own system?