No problem explaining man, i enjoy this strategy talk.
F4~SB is useful if they're respecting you heavily because it provides a safe way to build meter, and it is very deceiving. F4 on block with a Smoke Ball has enough pushback for you to jump away / smoke away without punish from the majority of the cast. (With the exception of a few FAS's) Smoke Towards and Shake cancel are both risky. Smoke towards can be poked and the pressure will be reversed; there's nothing wrong with it, i just like to play a safer footsie game. Shake cancel is alright but imo the string has too much pushback so your pressuring options off of it are limited. B2 and D4 is your only real bet and a jump in screws you over. If they jump away / towards your attack will whiff. (and if it was the latter of the two you'll be eating a full combo)
All of the options you listed are viable it's really just preference. Personally, i just prefer to play safer footsies (especially when i have low meter) So doing the F4~SB lets me accomplish both being safe and building meter. Not only that but there is the chance that your opponent will unblock and you will get a full combo.
D4~Teleport is risky i admit, but if you are really on top of your game and your reactions are point you can do it. Let me try to explain...
When dashing in to pressure you will throw out a D4, if they switch their block while your dashing in (which is when it will most often occur) you get more frames to hit-confirm it. It's an "escape" if you will of if you input a D4 and you see your opponent is low blocked. When dashing in you must theoretically guess (yes reading and whatnot comes into play but let's cut that out here) as to whether you should D4 or B2. Now your opponent switched to crouch block while you were dashing in and you inputting D4 realizing you made a mistake, you now have a few frames to correct that and input the teleport.
It's just a way to cover your ass if you make the wrong read. It's by no means a full proof tool that will work 100% of the time, but it should always be in the back of your mind. I asked Somberness for the frame calculations and it may be more beneficial than i had originally thought, but we have to wait and see.
As for replacing B14 with B2 they're not comparable. B14 should only really be done off a jip or after a D4. The benefits are here on my MKU Smoke Guide:
"B14~Shake Cancel: This cancels into a shake also much faster than the recovery time. It does not whiff neutral crouch unlike 21, and it does more chip damage. This string can be cancelled in either direction. On a forward dash it’s quick enough to keep up the pressure. The real glory of this cancel comes out of the spacing. You see, if you back dash cancel this string your opponents poke may whiff. There is only a few frames where he/she can poke before you are out of range. This creates a mix-up situation. If they sit there blocking they’ll eat more chip from your rush down, or if they try to poke you can blow it up with a Smoke Ball or B2. If they jump you can stand there and anti-air with a standing 2. "
B2 doesn't provide that spacing advantage where a poke whiffs. Your at neutral on B2 yes but if they poke or use a fast normal you're screwed. On top of that the B14 and shake cancel builds more meter and does more chip. You can hit-confirm it into a Ex SB if need be for a 42% combo. Think of this as Kit's 21~Cutter. After that cutter (which in this case is a shake) you have that poke mix-up. If it hit's you use the Ex Fan (Ex SB) to get a full combo. It's not quite as good but the benefits are still there.
And as stated, i do rush like a madman. Ask anyone who plays me. Detroit, Dirtyballs313, Curbo and Khaotik. I hardly runaway unless it's against Sonya or Cage lmfao. His footsies are good but he's geared towards whiff punishing not being the aggressor. You have all the tools needed to bait whiffs (Smoke Away, SB, B2, etc.) He has none of those super safe normals like Kit, Lao, or Kang have so being the aggressor isn't always worth it. I mix things up and switch between being aggressive and patient.
Not the clearest post D: if you need me to expand upon something or just talk strats in general hit me up. Some of this stuff is very debatable and i do see where you are coming from.
