So I've started actually playing SFIV online. Just for fun, I don't give a monkey's about rank (although I do get a massive kick about managing to rob people with 2K+ points on rare occasions), and I got fed up as playing Ken. He's fun n'all, but gets meh after a while. So I just hit random more often than not (though I'm not best pleased when I end up with Fuerte, Gen or Gouken - well, actually, Gouken's not so bad - as I cannot play as any of them).
 
But lately I've found Dhalsim to be a huge source of enjoyment. He's absolutely fantastic at screwing up the rhythms of Kens and Ryus, what with the fact that he jumps around like he's on the fucking moon, but can teleport near instantly, and the reach of his punches and the whole I-can-jump-back-but-then-corkscrew-kick-forward-halfway-across-the-screen-instantly fucks around with people's heads.
Unfortunately it takes a little while to get into his rhythm initially, but it's the fact that he can switch up so fast that makes me giggle. I still can't beat Sagat or Zangief with him though :(
 
So anyone else have thoughts on Dhalsim?
 
(My PSN is dudeglove, by the way, in case anyone here gets pissed off by Dhalsims in general and wants to take their frustration out on me.)

I love Dhalsim. Only character I play. 

You only love him if you're him. Playing against him is a pain.

Considering that the only Sim I ever get to play on a regular basis is FilipinoChamp (we're neighbors), I pretty much hate him. That said, I can also tear apart a lesser Sim without problems, so maybe that's not so bad! :)
 
Dhalsim is great but you not only have to be a very consistent player, but a cerebral one as well. Knowing your pokes is as important as knowing your match-ups because it's very easy to find yourself in serious trouble after just about any knockdown. You also have to be able to read your opponents well, primarily when it comes to their skills. Once you understand how to keep players at bay and how best to utilize his jumps and teleports, it'll become pretty easy to destroy weaker players, especially those that just don't know how Sim works. The opposite is true against players of higher skill levels because then, a lot of his gimmicks fail to work. 
 
If you like Sim though, keep it up! He's really fun.
 
Also, I main Chun so it's a pretty frustrating match-up. I have to play extremely lame, lots of full-screen fireballs and hope for a good cr.RH trade or easy jump-in read and then it's time to rushdown like crazy. Sometimes that opportunity just never comes so it's pretty crummy.

From vanilla SF4 to SSF4, Dhalsim is way better. He's just about the only character who saw damage buffs for his normals across the board so now it's a lot easier for him to just whittle someone down with pokes, and it makes bulldogging him a much riskier proposition. Yoga drill, which was only useful for hopping over projectiles, is now a useful attack when spaced properly. Yoga Shangrila is a downright dirty Ultra II that can be utilized in a lot of tricks and completely shuts down fireball users once in range.
 
I'm trying to think of little tricks and advice I can give you (I don't actually play Sim so everything I know is from facing him) ... if you're not using his Super, definitely work it into your arsenal. Sim with a full Super meter is extremely dangerous as it can nail a ton of moves on recovery and can do about 50% damage off a simple teleport combo. Aside from EX Upward Flame, which makes for a good emergency anti-air, you really shouldn't be using his EX's to begin with. You don't need EX Yoga Fire to win a projectile war because if you ever find yourself in trouble you can either RH drill or simply Yoga Tower through it. 
 
Oh, if you find yourself in the corner, don't try and do anything crazy. Simply turtle up and wait for an opportunity. Tech throws and look for an opportunity to throw them into the corner, then get the hell out. If they jump, teleport right through them. If they block string themselves out, st.LK to push them back a little more, then bulldog your way out. For every match-up with the exception of Guile (which is HILARIOUS), everyone's objective is to put Sim in the corner. Once he has his back to the corner, he can't do teleport tricks and he can't snipe with j.HP, so really all he can do is sit there and hope you make a mistake. 

As an El Fuerte user I hate Dalsim but at the very least you get my respect straight away regardless of skill, but that respect can still go down depending on how bad you play.

^ Same here. I used to main Zangief when SF4 came out but started learning Hakan once SSF4 was released. I love using Dhalsim to annoy people online with pokes and keepaway tactics.