Re: Ground game/takedown defense broken
So "occasionally" your opponent blocks all transitions? That seems fair. If it's every time that's another story. What is the skill difference between you and the AI's fighter, or is it vs other players (your mode says "other")? If you're being very predictable and immediately transition, any half-decent player will immediately deny and will succeed as it's predenied. When your stamina is drained, it becomes almost impossible to transition anywhere, so that's supposed to happen.
Try to hold RT/R2 at all times when you're on the ground. Then you just need to flick to the right direction while holding it. Keep in mind that once you flick to one side, it becomes impossible to flick to another side for about two seconds straight. So don't frantically flick everywhere or you can't deny anything.
AI on legendary (but you use normal) will not respond to fakes and will deny everything that isn't done after a denial yourself. It might suck but it's the only way to make the ground game harder for experts.
You have a point on the takedowns though. Takedown defense doesn't seem to matter much. I block the same takedowns with a 1 star fighter than I do with 5 star fighters. That's not normal. You seemingly can only stop takedowns when you're blocking low when they're shooting.