^
you can't stutterstep u-smash at all. you can do it while moving and slide while performing it, but you get a much better slide out of a running start than from the foxtrot slide (or 'grind')
You can do anything after the 'grind' is over, but out of the 'grind' itself, all you can do are dash-based moves:
dash grab
pivot grab
dash attack
forward-B (you have to B-reverse to do it backwards)
JC u-smash
In addition, there are some moves that you can't do out of this that you normally can out of a full dash:
- Shield
- Turn around ("dash pivot")
The only way to pull a F-smash out of it is to start another initial dash - in other words, foxtrot.
IMO using the slide as an approach isn't very safe. You're moving alot slower, you can't turn around, and shield comes out alot slower (side-B shield-cancel).
With foxtrot, you control the length of the foxtrot and have more opportunities to 'reverse' it with a "dashdance" pivot.
Wanna know a good defensive approach for Sonic?
...
...walk.
if you see an opening, you can switch to dash.
if your opponent does something that you don't want to shield, you can immediately walk or dash in the opposite direction
you can tilt out of it
and of course, you can immediately shield out of it.
The main disadvantages to walking are:
slower speed (and consequently, less slide from shielding, so it's harder to mess up your opponent's spacing)
..and that's about it.
You don't have to do a super slight-tilt walk, you can do a full-tilt walk and still have the same control.
Heck, walking away from an opponent is a bait that works on aggressive players all the time. You're moving at a speed that they can catch you with, so instead of feeling that there's no point in trying to chase you and play campy the whole time, they may actually approach you, then you can switch to dash/foxtrot and weave out of range and punish again.
