It feels like the more and more I play the more people I find that try to win by throwing out projectiles while switching between crouch blocking and uppercutting.

This is bad because uppercuts are horrible if you throw them out with a pattern.

My tips on uppercutting:
1.if you're using Shang or Kratos, don't even try to uppercut, if you're using Baraka or Sonya, those babies are almost free to throw out.
2.use it to end combos that you can't finish with other moves, or if you want more damage.
3.uppercuts shouldn't be your main anti-air if you're using Cyrax, Sheeva, Jax, Kano, or anyone with an upward attack that's faster or a move that immobilizes enemies like spear or net or trance.
4. Grabs > uppercuts when it comes to punishing moves that have bad recovery and don't leave the enemy floating, because sometimes you don't punish then in time and they can't block a grab, unlike the uppercut. They both do the same amount of damage give or take a few numbers.