Solid particle erosion often compromises the durability of turbine engine blades, particularly those used in offshore and desert environments. Surface protective coatings have emerged as a promising solution to significantly enhance the erosion resistance of compressor blades. In this study, TiAlN multilayer coatings were deposited onto Ti-6Al-4V substrates using a vacuum arc deposition technique. The article explores the strategic incorporation of TiN-Ti-TiN stress-adsorbed layers (SALs) within TiAlN-based coatings. It also investigates the microscale mechanisms leading to coating failure under conditions of micropillar compression. The findings reveal that the presence of metal/ceramic interfaces significantly improves the adhesion, crack resistance, erosion resistance and fracture toughness of the coatings. The multilayer deformation behavior of the coatings was primarily determined by the plastic flow of the softer metal layers. The SALs played a crucial role in reducing the elastic strain energy by generating nanotwins, coherent interfaces, and high-density dislocations during deformation, thereby improving the coatings' plastic deformation capability. Moreover, the implementation of dual-cycle SALs successfully reduced radial crack propagation, facilitating a transition from brittle fracture to a combined brittle-ductile fracture mechanism. This study highlights the critical role of metal/ceramic interfaces and SALs in improving the erosion resistance and co-deformability of TiAlN-based hard coatings.