For me, it's so slow to wind up, but seems to hit you the moment it releases (and it barely moves during its initial release). It makes you think you'll hit them first or you'll get hit later than it actually does. Then there's the chance they'll switch into an overhead or stun your block, so you can't just hold your block for too long.
I don't think mauls are worse, they're just different now. CT does considerably more damage, and you can't be sure whether a non-held overhead will hit or not. There's a higher chance that it doesn't, but it's not guaranteed, so you assume the worst case anyways.