I have some experience with various grappling styles but the vast majority of my training for ground work has been in BJJ so that is the view I am looking for this particular writing, I may do other takes at a later date.
So the thing with BJJ (and grappling in general) is there are many 'axis' on which a trainee can fall.
There is the most often considered Submission/Control line.
There is the Mobility line (High or Low)
The Gi/NoGi line (this one is sort of separate)
The Intensity line (most people float along this one for years before they find their place and it can change with each matchup so it is the most tricky in my mind)
And a variety of others on top of these already mentioned, now every grappler is on all of the lists even if they have no idea of the fact. Here is an example.
The Catch As Catch Can Wrestler is, provided he or she is a purist of that style, "all-in" for the NoGi section of the Gi/NoGi line. So are 'Basic' Wrestlers that do not bolster their training with some from of Gi training. Now like every example that can be come up with this placement, extreme as it is, can not be considered in any way a flaw it is simply a characteristic. Having said that, there are trade offs to everything. Some major some minor. Even tho many grappling tournaments are pure NoGi situations and MMA almost entirely is the fact is if you are willing to train both in and out of a Gi then you have more training partners and more training time available to you.
The Judoka and many BJJ players are the other end of it, many of them have no interest in Gi-less grappling and they lose out on some training time and even partners based on that fact. This can be a problem but what they gain is a faster rate of improvement in the skillset they are actually after.
Another consideration is the Intensity line. So this is an interesting one because a lot of people, particularly early in their time as grapplers consider it wise to use a medium intensity in training and a high intensity in competition. I'm not advocating against this concept as I feel for most of the 'lines' there are not better choices there are only different characteristics. It is certainly a mistake to train with high intensity at all times, even healthy well conditioned athletes will break down under prolonged use of that idea. But the thought that you need to go high intensity in competition is not always true either. If you are looking to secure victory in an overall tournament and it's a large competitor base you can be looking at 10 matches or more. There is something to be said for pacing yourself given that potential competition time.
The Submission/Control line is one that BJJ people are often pushed to the one side of, "Position Before Submission" puts people more to the Control side BUT not all the way over. You can still have a solid history of Submission victories even with a Control heavy game. Consider the pure Wrestlers (Greco/Freestyle/Folk) these are all the way to Control side of the line. Some other folk are as well, Dong Hyun Kim is a great example. Rather few Submissions but a truly impressive Control game. There is a bit of irony when it comes to MMA, the Control aspect makes your Strikes land better but the Strikes help set up your Submissions. Submissions btw can help set up positional improvements, ie; Control.
The Mobility line, ok now this one is the line I have put the most mental effort into, even tho being a BJJ focused grappler the Control/Submission line was the one I hear about the most as I mentioned before. Two big game styles we talk about a lot in BJJ are Heavy/Crushing game and a Fast/Mobility game. So I just put this altogether in the concept of the 'Mobility line' This was highlighted really well for me when a friend of mine brought in basically his entire family, three kids stayed interested the wife didn't care for it. Older Sister, Younger Sister and Brother. The two girls were opposites on the Mobility line and the boy was somewhere in the middle. Little sister has a great crush game especially strong is her Shoulder/Cross Face. It honestly feels like someone has laid an Anvil on your head if she gets there which is crazy as she is a little girl. Big sister is a high Mobility game, she is quick and when she gets to a dominant position she will often let you move because she is nimble and gets a chance each movement you make to secure a dominant position (Control line) or sneak an attack in (Submission line) So the trade offs are Little Sister can start looking for Submissions as soon as she has passed her opponents Guard because she only needs to get to Side Control to start hunting, on the other hand after she has gotten her 3 points for Passing she is not likely to get any more points on the board as she is going to settle into Side Control and wear you down to get a lapel grip or secure an arm depending. However because she holds that spot so well it is very difficult for her opponent to get any additional points to the board either. Big Sister has a lot of opportunities to gather points but also gives opportunities to her opponents because of her play style (she is good but she doesn't win every scramble) and she can't really start her submission game until she gets ahead a bit so it can become a time management problem in a match where she gets behind enough to need a submission win.
Now their Brother had a bit of Wrestling experience, not a great deal but enough to make it a great choice for him to have a sort of middle ground on the Mobility line. He can pin people down pretty well and establish Control but he is also ahead of most people in his Belt range when it comes to scrambles so if someone should get away from him he is not lost by any means.
I hope that what I have learned over the years and written down here can be helpful to people who read it, if you have any comments feel free! I am interested in discussing the issues I have covered.