If you're having trouble figuring out neutral, you might not be playing safe enough.
Elphelt is not so broken that she can run at people and press buttons fast, nor can she easily just space out her normals and win stand offs.
what i would suggest is playing around with our ultimate neutral game tool. The grenade, keep them guessing when and how you're gonna throw it.
will you throw it before you approach? will you approach with it ticking in your hand and throw it as you get near? how about throwing it during a blockstring.
playing around with tools and learning stagger pressure with shotgun can really help your game