How to VF2?

So I've read the guides and have played a good number of games online and luckily because of the timezone I live in I get to play lots of random Japanese people late in the evening/early in the morning everyday. But:

WTF do you do against rush down? In addition to the lag, there is no frame data on what anything is on hit, so I either get instantly knocked down or thrown in some poorly thought out option select. What can you do against Lau ? Why does Jacky's beat everything and why can't Jacky players kill themselves? What can you do against Akira's replace throw -> ? How the fuck are you supposed to know the correct follow-up to a launcher with that insanely tight buffer window? What is Jeffry's / for(or any throw that isn't ///)? Are there any charts for what attacks vs. jeffry lead to free knock-down -> down attacks so I can stop bothering against some of that shit? How can I beat storms with Jeffry as powerbomb sure as well isn't working. Is there a reason why no one plays Pai/Shun? Is there a reason why, despite being in the opponent's face and they're just blocking, my throw doesn't come out? Why is this game so fucking arbitrary (i.e. Pick Jacky and win) and stupid yet still so much fun?

The game is really fun when playing against people with 1,000 or fewer games, but those guys with 100K+ of battlepoints are unthrowable and are perpetually at advantage.

Haaaaalp.

 

Answering my own questions after some success today:

Dealing with Rushdown is dependent initially on luck in getting that first hit. Also, this game is fast so treat it like you would any other 2D fighter, never just do a single attack but buffer in a follow up you predict will work. So even against the really high ranked players, >> is effectively a combo until they stop mashing, and if you manage to condition them to stop just do +:>/ until they mash again.

Watching one of the Athena Cup videos I saw a Lau player crouch after getting hit by Akira's replace throw so maybe that will beat +?

just seems like a good attack to throw out when dashing in when mixed with quicker attacks or throws. + does a lot of damage and gives + frames on block, but if the opponent is standing and defending, just throw them.

One guy randomly played Shun after I demolished his Jacky using the above strategy, and soundly beat me because I have no idea of any anti-VF2 Shun game plans. So the reason why 99% of players alway pickLau/Jacky/Akira is purely based on their lack of moral character.

Game's still fucking weird, but I think I like it more than 5 because I haven't had this much fun since EVO.