I'd say Kano's variations are well rounded compared to others, but none excel at their archetype.
They're all good, but his lack of a forward travelling overhead and overhead/low strings make Cutthroat a less potent mixup character and his single projectile, although great, only gives Cybernetic one attack vector, where as other zoners get low/high/air and sometimes angled (up laser doesn't count). Commando is the only character that really shines as a grappler, but even then an overhead wouldn't be much to ask for as Lackey Torr gets one, as does Brawler Cassie and (I think) Wrestler Jax.
It appears that, although he is more balanced than other characters (Ermac and Quan Chi remain zoners, Kenshi has two very similar variations, Mileena is all about offence), as a trade off he doesn't excel at anything. That said, he doesn't suck either. I suppose the real benefit of having three balanced variations is that you don't see learning the others as a waste of time, unlike say a Kotal or Kung Lao player, where one variation dwarfs others.
