Ignoring your netcode anecdotes (to be fair, so are mine), you're wrong about the 2D vs 3D aspect. 2D would have absolutely cost more than 3D.
You're shitting on 3D graphics of KOF14 for not being good as GG's 3D. Yet I'm somehow supposed to believe that you wouldn't hate on a substandard 2D game for not looking as good as KOF13 or Skullgirls or whatever. Get real. If you're hating on an underbudget 3D game, you'd hate on an underbudget 2D game. And a modest 2D game would look better than what we have now? To who? To you, maybe. Being 2D doesn't automatically make it look better. Good 2D requires shit ton of resources.
To me current KOF14 on PS Pro looks great. Neither the backgrounds or character models are super high res, but the lighting is clean and the artstyle meshes both beautifully together, making it look better than MvCI or SF4.
Here's a 2D game made on a cheap budget (Punch Planet):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEKai2o0cjo
You think people would've been happy with this instead of what we have now? "Lol PS2 game" shitposting would've been replaced with "LOL KOF14 flash/newgrounds game"
This all started with you asking why people give KOF14 a pass for looking like it does, and we told you that on a shoestring budget they overdelivered an amazing product. Meanwhile SFV got bankrolled by Sony, has a higher budget, but spent that all on high poly characters and textures while giving an anaemic product. But I guess they had to prioritize budget towards graphics to satisfy the shallow graphical boner fans I guess. If you still don't get why 14 gets a pass, I can't take you seriously anymore.
EDIT: Also Guilty Gear used tech they developed inhouse. Tech cost money and GG absolutely cost more per character than KOF. It also launched with 15 characters not counting DLC. KOF spent its modest budget on building 50 characters. In GGs case, any expenses on tech will pay out in the long run since they are making more games like Dragonball Fighterz. Like I said before, KOF14 could've looked like Xrd or SFV or KOF13 with its budget but it'd have like 8-10 characters then. They prioritized making a beefy roster and a great game than making a pretty one with the resources they had. Ideally you want both, but SNK didn't have that kind of budget, and besides NRS I don't think anyone does.
EDIT2: Also KOF14 being made with GG xrd's engine and budget, ending up a really pretty 3v3 game with only 15 characters would also be laughable and kill it. ASW's doing a 3v3 game in Xrd's engine and being moneyhatted by Bandai Namco and even then no one expects more than 20 characters in it. To think KOF could have 50 characters and look like that with the budget they have...is...wow.. I can't even process that line of thinking