- Scorpion doesn't suck. He's got hands down the best air to air option in the game, can confirm good damage off any stray hit and has a great vortex. Not only that, but he's probably the easiest character to use in the game.
- Ermac doesn't suck. He has unsafe 50/50's, but one successful confirm does ~40%, no problem. He's a glass canon, and can punish clone on reaction. Not to mention trading with his projectile hurts more than any other fireball trade in the game.
- Takeda doesn't suck. He's got safe full screen 50/50's, and he basically ignores ice clone with his teleport and long range normals. His damage output is great, and he has strong gimmicks with air teleport and ex shuriken.
- Don't disregard online play. It's a substitute for real experience and should be taken with a grain of salt, but not a single person on this site can say they haven't learned something constructive online. ESL popularity is proof that netplay is legit. Legit enough to pay substantial money to the winners anyway.
If you aren't already, consider using Cryomancer in these match ups. Grandmaster is always a good choice, but given how each of these trouble characters can beat clone relatively easily (and thinking about damage you could do per confirm/ punish/ armor option) I feel like Cryo is a stronger option. Ermac and Scorpion have to commit to their mix ups leading to potent, meterless punishes. Takeda is the in between where either variation seems fine.