i use a mai
Mai is a great defensive character…
I think Mai is much better with short jump grooves than grooves w/o short jump: her tigerknee sucks ass, and her short jump owns. It’s hard to explain. But it feels like you can hit her shortjump attacks earlier than other characters to land and combo.
I’ve always used Mai in K-groove. Her Hissatsu Shinbo Bachi (being the most efficient super) can save you in that groove. She is a great rushdown character but because her jumps have a lot of priority in some cases she doesn’t really need roll canceling. She can thrive in N and C groove but from the way I play I’ve always been more comfortable with K groove for some odd reason. ::shrugs::
I like her in P too. Buffs her decent defense skills to really good. cr lk x 3 into flame super is really good in P groove, mashable. 
Short jumps are good, with low jump rh.
A is probably her best.
K is good too with run and rage. Its a matter of what you can work with.
It’s me probably, but I have a bad defense. Also, Mai has not so great stamina.
I learned a long time ago that the best defense is a good offense…oh well.
I guess it depends on the style of a person.
I use her in K (she’s the ratio 2 at the end of a team including ken and chun-li).
I like her with running. I need mobility with Mai; she doesn’t have the strength or stamina to stand there and slug it out with most people and her air priority is too good not to use that shit [not great, but good; short jump jab and roundhouse, reg. jump roundhouse, mix in air just defend, air throw, and her various aerial specials, your opponent’s head should be spinning] = you should be moving your ass with her. K allows me to do that and enraged helps add to my rushdown game.
Can’t use her in any dashing grove though…just feels, well, wrong; when I go with P groove I plug in Chun as the ratio 2…I actually prefer her in running groves too but for some reason I can tolerate her with dashing but not Mai. Go figure. shrug
I used to play in N because Morrigan was a strong character in that groove, but I always ran too far into someone and got the price paid. Run helps, but because of CvS1, I’m so accustomed to dashing with Mai that anything otherwise feels too awkward.
Yeah. In P, I try to stay close to, or on top of the person. I seem to have a problem against Chun-Li using P-Mai because I’ll parry, but Chun-Li will be ready to do something else. That and I can’t capitalize all the time after the parry. Still wroking on that…
-NinjMai
I would like to say that mai’s roll is top tier only to be beaten by iori’s, if your not too far from the shoto then roll the fireball… if your too far then hit the fire ball with your fan or if your really good and looking for the fire ball you can use the fire twril and hit them (at a decent mid range, where most shotos use their fireball offensively)
using her in c groove you can run away alot easier… roll ,jump back …
in c groove you have a complete air game…
-j.hp has good priority
- you have an air throw
-you have air block
-you have jump off wall (which can be used with air dive for a great escape)
-you have air super (can reall give her lots of offense with a jumpin game if your fast enough)
mix that in with some good poke strings , walkin throws, and empty jumps and your opponent will need to be careful. Its pretty easy to build meter to a level 2 , I wiff fans from afar, c.mp, j.hp, jump air dive away
why would you roll if a shoto throws a fireball? block it and see what they do or if your far enough throw a jab fan. you want to play footsies against shotos until they jump at you thats when your beastly s.fierce AA comes in, that shit owns. if they want to cross you up s.forward and your safe. or if your charged do her d, u.k flame move, it has invincibility start up but shitty recovery if blocked or whiff.
About shoto fireballs:
-if you’re expecting a fireball you can try using far s.LP, it has good range and it comes out fast enough to stop the fireball during start-up (again, not something you can do on reaction, only use this if you’re expecting the fireball). If you’re within range for a c.LK, that’s a good option too. If you have meter for a lvl 3 super you can do c.LK > far s.LK xx lvl 3 dash super.
-if you’re in a groove with low jumps (such as N or K, Mai’s two best grooves) you can low jump over the fireball on reaction and catch their recovery with low j.HK (good option for when you’re outside of c.LK or far s.LP range);
-I don’t see much advantage in using her fan throw against a shoto fireball. It doesn’t cause any damage (since you’re just trading projectiles), and it doesn’t give you any positional advantage. If they use RC fireballs you might even end up getting hit. RC Ryu En Bu is a decent move depending on the distance;
-as for rolling through the fireball, it’s a decent option if you time it properly but I think the two first options I mentioned above are safer.
I think her roll is a pretty good option… its really fast an short… im not sure about the frame data but I feel its prtty safe … espically when you have a full super guage