Ghost Dog

I'm having a brutal time against my friend's Taokaka. He just drills into me and outspeeds me in getting her combos off. As of now I try to keep Neesan between us as a human shield and poke from behind her but I feel like there are better options. Suggestions?

I just got the game yesterday and I gotta say I'm in love with Carl and his sister. Can you give any basic advice for how to get a feel for using Carl and Nirvana together? Also who would you say is Carl's hardest matchup? Trivia: Carl never actually attacks in the game. All of his attacks are executed by either Nirvana or a smaller robot that hides in his cloak. A moves are the smaller robot punches, B moves are smaller robot kicks, C moves are the robot riding a horse, and D moves are Nirvana. Thanks :-D