Well critical_error if you looked at some of the combat video you would see that in final when you hit someone with basic melee they go flying back, and not up anymore. Blocking still results in you getting pushed back a bit, but you come to a quicker stop. I don't know that if you are on the ground then straight back is the new default position, or if you have to hit with combo melee to actually choose a direction.
However in 1.2. it isn't too hard to follow up uppercutting someone with anther hit, if you KNOW you are going to uppercut them. In the past year chaining up to 4 basic melee hits has become a habit, but the past 10 decades it was nigh impossible for me.
Seems to me that the little intricacies in Final are going to keep us from having so much down time as 1.2.3 had, what with trying to catch up to players where who chain hit, lengthy throw charges, having to deal with getting hit with advanced melee and watching for 10-15 seconds and of course invincible recovery times. (One of the worst exploits in 1.2.3) Smoke will allow you to strategize and break the line of sight, so thinking players will be rewarded for taking that into consideration. Player manipulation is back stronger than ever, and combat is shaping up to be more furious than any installment to realize the series.