I'm literally testing the right now and it (the short hop) is absurdly high. Anytime you really have a downwards air approach (that isn't some sort of techchase or in a specific circumstance), it's usually super limiting. I suppose you can mix it up with a grab or an attack, but then why would you not have a horizontal approach? Where you can have an option to backup/go for a bait first. Also why are we arguing about one monado over another when we should be talking about match up specific things?
Also, every character love stage control, most characters' grabs are staples because grabbing is pretty great in this game. You're not providing admissible evidence.
Mind if I put my two cents in here?
I'm personally a big, BIG fan of
Speed art, so I'm heavily biased in favour of it, but what @
Scieric
is saying isn't entirely wrong. What frightens me away from
Jump art isn't the need to approach from the air, but that 22% extra damage hanging above my head-- I often save it for recovering, or edge guarding. But it isn't its versatility that deters me, and I think it can be used safely in neutral just as much as
Speed. Yes,
Jump's SH is much higher than what would want from a SH, but
Jump Shulk's fast fall speed is
insane.
Jump Shulk's approach is still going to be horizontal, but from the air this time. While yes, Shulk loses use of his shield while in the air, that fast fall speed means that he can regain that ability much faster than any other character's aerial approach. It's much harder to punish empty hops from
Jump Shulk than you might think.
Jump and
Speed are almost two sides of the same coin-- both give Shulk the mobility to win the neutral, but at the cost of percentage (a decrease in percentage dealt for
Speed, and increase in percentage taken for
Jump). From my own play style (so this will vary between Shulks), I prefer
Speed when I'm at low percentage so I don't go from 0-60% from one mistake, whereas when I am at high percentage I prefer
Jump (well, truly I prefer
Shield to live to 200+% but
Jump is very good too) as I can lay on as much damage as possible before I lose my stock, not really caring about the extra damage I am taking at that point.
Now, to talk specifically about D3. I wouldn't find myself using
Buster nearly as much just because of how much mobility matters in in this MU. Yes, I still need to tack on the damage, but
Buster makes every hit D3 gets on me worth more than my own. Similarly, I'd be very cautious about using
Smash art, as if D3 is anywhere near kill percent he probably has enough rage to kill me with one solid read at mid-range percentages. I'd recommend taking advantage of any reckless usage of those arts in particular. Sadly, I can't input much more than that about my D3 experience. I've only faced one in Tournament, and only for one game of the set. All I knew from For Glory experience that I sure as hell didn't want to go Pit against him. Now
that is a painful MU.