I agree, I think different animations for jump punches and kicks just makes this too Capcomish. If you want different animations then go play SF (it's a good game). But I believe what makes MK9 unique is that there is a degree of "minimalism." unnecessary complexity that doesn't add to the fun of the game but just allows for people to say "I have have memorized by heart the different whatever specs of each individual character" is not there).
As for the dashes, I agree, instead of dashing you should have running. It would make the game faster.
Also, no more moves with up, so as to prevent accidental jumps.
I think combo breakers should take 1 piece of meter or be more easily accessible and maybe specials 2 pieces of meter and x-rays 3 (assuming there is a system like that).
Finally, so as to prevent any infinite or high percentage combos, maybe there should be a better system to limit combos. Or at least let some players thoroughly test the game for infinites and high percentage combos for some time before releasing it.
Again, MK9 is my favorite fighting game so far.