"i don't get how one is supposed to approach knife goons, their attacks are rapid and not telegraphed"
They very clearly whip out the knife, show it and pull it over their heads for several frames before swinging it.
"They can do their thing right out of stun and chef through your hp like knife through butter. "
That's the point. I want the flamethrower robot to be the one enemy that presents a real threat.
"I tried to juggle them but character's reach is just silly."
The standard air combo is Dive Kick > Air Punch > Spin Kick > Air Punch over and over infinitely or until you finish it with a heavy attack. The character's air attacks have large hitboxes and drag enemies to his position to prevent players from missing hits.
"Also rolling is useless and makes blocking really difficult."
Rolling deals 1 hp of damage... every two frames, so it hits 3 to 5 times whenever you roll into someone. When any attack bonuses are on, what do you think happens? That aside rolling is meant to let you keep a combo going between enemy ambushes without stopping and increases the special gauge faster than it does while blocking. I have now changed it so pressing down while rolling under a certain speed makes Bolinha block, though.
I also considered making it so rolling into an enemy and jumping drags it with you, but while it is a fun concept, it does a ridiculous amount of damage (enough to kill every enemy in a single jump without stat buffs) and overshadows the entire moveset. I've cut it out for now.