1. It depends on how far your opponent is away from you when 3C AC. If you 3C them at the very tip of the move, then AC, they will float towards you and go over your head. If you hit them with the 3C at around mid range, then they will float straight upwards. At point blank range, they will float away from you. It is very portant since it will determine which combos you can do and how it sets up your opponent.
For example, lets say you AC your opponent out of the corner, and you want to put them back. You just have to continue the combo with 4D (whiff), 3C, AC (they'll float over you back towards the corner), j.2C,.... The 4D (whiff) in this combo just pulled them towards you just enough for 3C to hit at the tip. Therefore, causing them to float over you, when you ACed. If you did the combo differently, like, AC (whiff), 3C, AC. Then they will float away from you, because the AC (whiff) brought them right up to point blank range. So the following 3C AC causes them to float away from you.