I think SRK could really use more people like you complaining.
Not nearly enough of that going on…
Beat me to it. besides comboing into ultra, using ultra on a dizzy or level 3 focused opponent, or as a means of throwing it out as a raw ultra against certain moves (any balrog rush punch, abel wheel kick or fireball thrown too close on wake up etc. etc. etc.) thats about it. Anything outside of these mentioned here I wouldn’t do, unless it’s some gimmick like blanka hopping in for a grab, psyching them out, and ultra’ing them as they try to tech your fake throw. But that’s a gimmick and not a strategy.
i would just like to see the ultra meter start slowly fade away once it activates at the 50% mark, but only deactivate when it reaches 0% again. Of course it would still build up if you are taking damage. Sure, this would cause people to turtle if you see their ultra meter active, but it would definitely change the way some characters are played. eg, Ryus waiting to SRK a jump in into an ultra.
It makes it more of a tool if the situation arises rather than something you rely on.