Kano ? Easily 9, I like to play with him, he is a fox clever MOFO online, hehe !
** His projectile : top-notch, quick, very decent weapon
** UpBall : deadly, hard to predict if not abused, and can save your ass in the last moment, in ultra disputed matches
** His grab choke is amazing if mixed with 1,1 ..... scary stuff with some frame advantage ! His F+3,B+2 mixed with choke is pretty good too.
** His F+3,3 is a cunning dirty trick that helps a lot
** His Air Ball is very decent if you catch the perfect execution and timing , also distance, against projectiles spammers
** One of the best MK 2011 characters to put a hell of pressure on corner, hard to get out once you are there, being crushed to death with chip damage .... hehe XD
** Deadly X-Ray if hits !
I don't see Kano as defensive character, but, as a very offensive character, anyway, not the typical "rushdown suicide crazy ass" type like Johnny Cage and Liu Kang can be played sometimes; he's more as a smart character that seek for opening in opponent's game, using his efficient mixup game, fast special moves and overall, good default chain combos.
I don't see major flaws in his game; maybe, the absence of teleport and , the fact that UpBall cannot be abused due the punishable effect post patch fix .... other than that, he, Kano, is a top 10 character in MK 2011, able to put a good fight in any tournament. Against any character.