Jacky:
1. Lacks range.
2. Often starts his offense with 6PP(PP6PP), which hits high and thus can sometimes be countered or just crushed, unlike Kokoro who has one more follow-up 6P6P that hits mid so her opponent has to take the risk of being hit by it if he decides to go for high crush moves.
3. The high P parry is just a joke.
4. No reliable get-in tools
1. This applies more to Marie Rose than Jacky, actually. Jacky has good range. Prime examples would be 6PK, 3K, 66K, 4H+K, 6H+K, 66H+K, 6P+K, 8PP, 1P+K string and 4P. There's probably a few more but all in all I would say Jacky has good range.
2. This is
NOT a weakness of Jacky but a weakness of the player. Starting offense with 6PP is the stupidest thing you could ever do with Jacky, since it can either be crushed or held, like you said. This is the #1 thing a Jacky player should never do and it honestly makes him look bad. Rather, start your offense with 6P, 6P+K, 4K, 2H+KK, 3PP and 4P, 1P+K string, 6H+K and 3K at longer ranges.
3. Agreed, but why would you just stand there and do nothing? The high punch parry almost never comes into play since you're almost always fighting or on the move.
4. 6P, 1P+KP, 3P(P), 6P+K, 4K, 2H+KK, 4H+K, 6H+K, jab string, 44P, BT 2P, BT P, BT P+K. Experiment with these and you'll see Jacky is not a bad character.
One thing to mention: it's not just me but some other players in Taiwan also think Jacky is not that great although I said that the list I showed above was just my own opinion.
That's okay, and I respect your opinion. I was just wondering why you put Jacky so low and Marie Rose so high. Tier lists are based on opinion for the most part anyway.
Marie: I mis-listed her. She should be in mid-tier.
1. Actually her SS P is decent, but most people only use her 2P+K.
2. Characters lacking tracking tools may have a hard time dealing with her.
3. Her 4K is a strong move.
1. SS P is unsafe (-8) and doesn't get around certain things Minuet does. The stun, however, is good.
2. True but they can keep that in mind and use throws instead since the general property of a throw is that it tracks.
3. Also true, 4K is very good (safe, good range, deep stun, etc.)
The main tendency I notice from your reasoning is that you list valid points, but those points are really specific (e.g. ''Her 4K is a strong move''). While this also plays a role, the general strengths of a character are what make the character. I could also say: ''Jacky's 1P+KP is good, Jacky's 4K is good, Jacky's 2P+K is good, ...'' but that wouldn't capture the actual strengths of the character.
Hayate:
1. 4P crushes highs, tracks, causes a deep stun on NH and has follow-ups. Besides, some mids can't even hit him due to the stance.
2. 8P+KP, a move that people are aware of and is often abused as well. Some tracking moves can't even get him.
3. In terms of being a striker, his damage output from throws is high.
4. Decent tools for whiff punishment and get-in purposes
I have nothing to comment on Hayate since I do not play him at a high level, but I know for a fact that he is a really good character. Personally I wouldn't place him top tier, but he is certainly not bad.