Fear is fear. And fear still holds you back.
Thats discouraging. Low tiers are only low because of their weaknesses, if you know how to overcome weakness, you can have them stand up against almost anything.
Also, you still don't have the hang of the edit button do you? =/
1. If I did not 'fear' ICs chain grabs I would play a completely different kind of game against ICs that puts me in a closer distance. Knowing that ICs have that weapon and if done perfectly I lose a stock, I play a different kind of game tailored specifically against that character. Fearing one specific move when I have a massive amount of other options, and staying away from getting hit by that move, is honestly pretty healthy. Guess you don't understand completely what I'm trying to say, but I know I'm not explaining it perfectly either.
2. I used to main Ike, and when I did, my Ike wasn't like, AMAZING, but it wasn't half bad either. Unless you started playing Brawl and maining a low tier when the game came out, you're going to have issues. You will never be able to deal with high tiers and even some mids at the highest levels of play. If you're in it to win, play something high or higher mid. If you don't care about throwing tons of money in pots, never winning, and it won't make you depressed ever losing a match you knew you would have won without your character's weaknesses, play whatever you want.
How many low tiers do you see consistantly winning in higher populated areas? I can think of exactly one, and if you have the ability to read people/situations as perfectly as San does, feel free to play whatever you want.