I focused on Ryo because he was the less used of the two and Robert seemed a little too good. Socal guys said the same thing in that one levelup stream, going on and on about how he's top tier. Though its funny how none of them bothered with him during SCR. Same with Hwa Jai, they said that he's top but he didn't do much worth mentioning in SCR. So yeah, I still maintain that, so far, this is one of the best balanced fighting games to date.
Now that I feel more comfy with Ryo I'll focus on Robert but, honestly, based on the few matches I've played with him I can't see myself not doing well with him. He's like a swiss knife of sorts, pretty much has everything. Fireball, DP, command throw, air special, invincible and super fast neomax (that can also be done in the air), very safe db f+B special, etc. Add to this easy hit confirms via f+B and f+A, which also work starting from lows, and you have a very solid character.
Maybe you guys are playing him way too much like in the previous years? Dunno. Most probably just have to adjust to his XIII style instead of relying on past knowledge, which is the same with a lot of the cast due to all the refreshing that took place.