Just take Fan Fare back to the drawing board and let fearless combo outside the corner.
Even if 1,2 and b+2,3,1 combo-ed into fan-nado, Highborn would still be a lot better. Fearless would be really good without a gap on EX low fan, but the lack of a gap would turn the move into EX rising star. I would gladly welcome this change, but NRS and most people in the community would probably not. LOL.
I also dislike the concept of spending a bar and still being punishable. Remember how many times Cassie's EX up glow kick was used pre-patch? Pay attention to how many times it is used now. Semiij almost never uses it outside of combos while Sonic Fox used it after every string pre-patch. While Cassie remains a good character because of her versatility, the balance of the EX up glow kick was mismanaged. The point is that I had rather take reduced push back on EX fan toss, and possibly more negative frames too, than keep the gap.
I agree with you about Fan-Fare. This variation sucks.
I am aware that many Kitana players dislike Highborn, but I do not foresee Fan-Fare and Fearless surpassing Highborn any time soon. The variation is simply too versatile.