So I take it Dan really got buffed? Far as I can tell the stuff to buff him are simple buffs, but seems it helped him out with the other characers nerfs?
Being able to build meter so quickly from taunts is a great thing, especially since you can land with a jumping taunt then do standing taunt into crouching taunt. His taunts still don't do damage but Dan can put on quite a bit of pressure with meter so it oughta make a fair bit of difference.
His close hard kick being a command normal might make it useful as anti-air? Being able to use it that little bit further out should lead to more damaging combos; in the latest change trailer he's seen linking that kick after a close standing medium punch then linking a HP.Koryuken at the end. That extra horizontal range on his dragon punch ought to make his BnBs more consistent. He's -5 after a blocked DP FADC forwards like everyone else now though.
lk.Dankicks oughta hit crouching characters more consistently as well, which will make a big difference against Blanka. I worry about how this change will impact Dan Vs grapplers though since a well spaced lk.dankick, hitting late, would keep Dan safe from reversal SPDs. Hopefully if it's just increased downward this shouldn't matter?
The increased damage for his Ultra 2 on juggled opponents is a really big deal. It used to be hilariously puny. In the Ultra build I played at Hypespotting Dan's W Ultra version of Ultra 2 still did more damage after KRK FADC combo than the same KRK FADC combo would have in AE 2012. Plus Ultra 1 breaking armour will make EX happy Balrog players more cautious on approach.
All in all I'm pretty happy with almost all the changes; I do agree with Ixion's suggestion that his far standing hard kick should have been the command normal with the default being his current cl.hk, though.