Just being there doesn't make it a good game is true, but the fact is that most people at srk.com have accepted it as a decent enough fighting game. Maybe not spectacular, but good enough for competitive play. Also, the entire Soul Caliber series is overrated, and when people bitch about DOA while ignoring the flaws of the series they are trying to say is good is just retarded. But in the end, I don't care too much for either, I'm a 2d fighting fan.
Wrong wrong wrong wrong WRONG.
First off, about third strike. In 3s the best character is Yun. That's the general consensus. Guess what? This year at Evo, the top 4 were all the same character, Yun. Spots 5-7 were Chun Li, and a lone person at number 8 was Ken. The only chance you have of doing good with another character is by playing in team single elimination matches where you don't have to be consistent. Then you may see a Makoto creep up or other low tiers, but here in America where you have to play all day long, it is clear that Yun is the overall best character and is the most consistent.
Now about MVC2. It is obvious you know nothing about high level play, as you wouldn't state that it somehow requires no skill. But regardless, I will try to explain it a little to you.
In MVC2 there are four "god" tier characters. Cable, Sentinel, Storm, and Magneto. Now these are the best four characters, but it's a team based game. The best team is the team that works together, and usually a team will have a lower tiered character or two due to the assist helping the team dynamics out better, such as in MSP (Magneto Storm Psylocke). Psylocke's assist helps out Mag's rushdown and helps him set up the rom infinite. There is no one "best" team in MVC2. (However, there is a top person, Justin Wong. That guy is a beast.)
Really, the easiest way to help explain MVC2 at high levels is to show you, so
is a video. This is Duc vs Sanford, game 8 of their money match at Evo. There was something like $6600 in side bets running on this match, and it is pretty epic. Duc plays Spiral, Cable, Sentinel while Sanford plays Sentinel Storm Cap Commando. These are two of the best MVC2 players around, and yet "low" tier people like Cap Commando and Spiral are still in their main team because of their assist and how they help out the team dynamic.