I'll be going really in depth with the new stuff tonight, but in the hour I've gotten a chance to play this is what I've observed:
Soul Spark is really great because now that level 1 EX Soul Scorch cashes out at 8% health, it can give you lots of comeback potential in spurts. (8%, 12%, 18% are the respective healing amounts for each level of Sun God Power)
114 > Soul Spark appears to be maybe -8 on block. I've been able to consistently punish it with Reptile's EX Slide and Kung Lao's EX Spin, but can block Sub Zero's slide. It appears quick enough to easily slip by someone who has been conditioned by 1,1,4 > air throw that they shouldn't retaliate. Most characters still aren't going to be able to punish it on block.
d+4 > Soul Spark at max distance is crazy good on hit or block. Since Kotal Kahn doesn't move forward like he does with the whiffed Air throw, it's great bait for EX Cyclone which is out of range unless they move forward with it.
1,1,4 > Soul Scorch is going to start being used way more often because the recovery is only a couple of frames slower than 1,1,4 > air throw. It feels like +1 instead of +4. Even if it's even or -1 on block, most people can't contest your d+1 without armor and it's going to be great counter bait along with even better X-Ray bait. Since you'll have access to Sun Power more readily, you get to take a more holistic approach to meter and life management which will be lot of fun for us and really annoying for our opponents.
Between the parry absorbing projectiles and we can gain Sun God Power without the choke connecting, this forces opponents to come to us... especially if we have the life lead. Otherwise, we will win the battle of attrition thanks to our newly accessible healing capabilities.
I'll have more to say about the parry after I play some more matches, but I bet it feels more like an armor move we can rely upon now than it used to. I'm really excited!!