Scorpion? Please explain...
I'll be as detailed as possible,
d4 doesn't trap on hit. The only d4 I know of that is +0 on standing hit.
d4 and d1 into Takedown does not jail even on hit. You can easily fit a low poke or fast special in before the takedown will hit.
While most characters get somewhere around +2 to +3 on hit with d3, Scorpion's is -7. The opponent recovers so quickly that negative edge will often spit out a punish because the opponent was still inputting their attack when you hit them with it.
2, 21, 1, 11 are all +0 on hit and on block and while 111 is +7 on hit the knockback takes away a lot of the advantage allowing the opponent to slip out of pressure with a low poke or armored attack. I could have sworn many patches ago this was a safe jump. The only way a Scorpion player can prevent you from escaping 111 pressure is by slipping a d1 or a spear in occasionally or ending with Takedown. Throwing the spear in is of course high risk/reward so similar to his vortex. If the opponent doesn't jump the d1 will end the pressure unless you play it risky and try to trap them with a spear as previously mentioned. And while the new takedown helped Scorpion A LOT regardless of if it hits or not it ends his offense and he has to get in again which is the whole problem.
Most people don't realize they can just jump/poke out of 111 pressure on hit or block because other characters who have a similar target combo jail on hit like Ermac and Johnny Cage.
His E. teleport is advantaged on block but can be punished by full combo simply by anti-airing him. Even his X ray can be punished this way because Scorpion loses armor when he reappears. Both are slow enough that seasoned players can punish on reaction.
Spear and E. Spear whiff on crouch blocking opponents and is full combo punishable at full screen.
So what this all amounts to is there isn't really anything safe with Scorpion. He has good damage and mixups but nothing safe to fall back on except 334 (which has a gap that can be armored through). His whole game is just rolling dice asside from a few safe mixups.
My suggestion for playing against him: When you are moving in on Scorpion, don't jump over demon fire because it's only 7% damage. If you instead avoid it by dash blocking you can often make it whiff and Demon Fire is very low reward/very high risk. That and his spear is basically his only way to keep you from beating him in the face since his low pokes don't give him enough advantage to start a hit confirm. If he lands his normal teleport guess high/low and block the first hit then try to armor/poke the 2nd or 3rd in order to force the Scorpion player to take a risk. As long as you consistently block the first hit and block high on the 2nd/3rd he can't hit confirm into spear.
What I think Scorpion does have going for him is 334, his damage, vortex and his instant air teleport but considering that d3 and d4 are so fundamental to just about any other characters game it hurts him a lot that he doesn't have a good version of either. But if these two things were fixed and 111 got a safe jump I would say he would be mid-high on the tier list at the very least.
NOTE: I don't think the bottom tier in this game is complete garbage except maybe Jade (haven't played any good Jades yet but might be a reason for that). I just don't think you will see them win in a large tournament which is basically the whole point of a tier list or what determines a good character. The more risks you have to take, the lower your chances are of getting to finals. Safe and dependable tools are always better than high risk/reward where attrition is involved. A Scorpion player can easily win with a few random choices but the same can be said for losing in that situation. A good player can use his tools effectively, ala Slips, but he's been playing competitively in the FGC for years with a lot of success.
