Stylish Nero
We Dem Boys!!
I have gotten pretty good at max act, but it's hard to pull it off when you're in the middle of a combo. i think that if you time it right on the first hit of the combo, you're entire combo should be max act.
I've practiced it a lot and found that pulling off Ex/Max-Act easier in some parts of certain combos such as the beginning like you said but when using the combo that goes atk pause atk, atk....atk I find it in fact easy to Exceed there and easier at the end of the combo when Nero drives the sword into the ground and pull it off the second he pulls the sword out. I find it even easy to Exceed in the combo where he goes atk, atk, pause atk atk atk right after the pause when you pull off the next atk and some parts of that combo but his basic combo is the atk, atk, atk, atk pause atk combo is the hardest one. The aerial combo is a bit challenging but Exceeding at the aerial pause combo is pretty easy to me.
Me so far is practicing with the directional inputs as well as practicing Exceeding Ex/Max attacks such as Double Down and Ex Shuffle. I'm getting better at it as I managed to pin point the exact time/frame to pull it off for Streak, Split, Calibur, Shuffle, Ex Streak, Double Down, Ex Calibur, and Ex Shuffle. Still managing the timing for the lvl 3 versions of each Ex attacks.
Then I move on to combos but I got a pretty good hang of using it in combos although its mainly for like 3 of his combos and its only during certain parts of those combos (I can Ex/Max-Act almost all of the combo where Nero slams the sword to the ground like lunatic).