So I'm playing a half-orc brawler in a Skull and Shackles game and trying to plan out my build. I've decided that going for a trip build is a pretty solid option, and that I really like Pummeling Style.
Which brings me to the Pummeling Bully feat. While I really like the fact that Pummeling Bully gets me a free action trip or reposition attempt at the end of my full attack, it still feels too feat intensive for an already feat-heavy character build. Chances are I'll never really want to reposition someone, but I still have to take Improved Reposition to qualify for Pummeling Bully.
As it sits, my build plan looks something like this.
1: IUS, Power Attack
2: Pummeling Style
3: Combat Expertise
5. Improved Trip, Improved Reposition
7. Pummeling Bully
8. Pummeling Charge
9. Greater Trip
11. Combat Reflexes, Vicious Stomp
13. Horn of the Criosphinx
14. Ki Throw
15. Improved Bull Rush
17. Improved Ki Throw, Improved Dirty Trick
19. Quick Dirty Trick
20. Greater Dirty Trick
This build basically doesn't really come together at any reasonable level. I mean, Martial Flexibility means I can grab a lot of these on the fly, but it's still very feat intensive. If I dropped Improved Reposition and Pummeling Bully, I'd be able to get Combat Reflexes and Greater Trip that much earlier. But then I wouldn't actually be able to trip in the same round I used Pummeling Style, which pretty much defeats the point of the build.
I'm not really sure what to do, and I'm starting to think I'm going to have to end up sacrificing part of the character idea/thematic because it just won't work out mechanically.
Yeah...not worth it. Just drop a level of Brawler for Master of Many Styles and go straight to Pummeling Charge.
Take Improved Trip if you want, and then you can use Martial Flexibility to grab Improved Reposition and Pummeling Bully when it'd actually be worthwhile.
A lot of people do the MoMS dip, but I'm doing my best to stick straight brawler for character thematic reasons. Which, unfortunately, limits me even further, so I'm trying to make it work.
It's a tough choice trying to figure out which feats are core to have at all times and which ones I can grab with Martial Flexibility. And also, importantly, which ones are worth potentially spending more uses/actions to get multiple parts of.
If I dropped Improved Reposition and Pummeling Bully to get, say, Greater Trip and Combat Reflexes earlier, I'd have to spend a move action to get them both back. Which means I'd be limited to a standard action in the first round of combat. Thankfully, I'd still be able to use Pummeling Charge, but it sort of sucks to have an "action tax" in order to make the build come together. Not to mention being effectively limited in fights per day to do it in, and lose the ability to actually be flexible with Martial Flexibility since I'd be basically locked into the same choices every time.
I'm honestly going to try to talk my GM into letting me get rid of the Improved Reposition requirement on the feat, and simply lose the ability to reposition with Pummeling Bully. Half the feat cost, half the effect, easier to make work. Besides, Ki Throw does everything I'd want to repositioning to do, and it can be made better.
I'm also playing a Brawler in Skulls and Shackles, so I might be able to help you there.
Firstly, I decided that I wanted to load up on prereq feats, stuff like Combat Reflexes, the "Improved <Combat Maneuver>" Feats, and relied on Martial Flexibility to pick up what I wanted. Reason being, I didn't want to specialise in (say) Trip, if all the enemies I faced were currently (or would in future), be immune to it.
This means that most of my feats are pretty generic, Toughness, Improved Init, Weapon Focus line, combat reflexes, Iron Will and so on, feats that provide a flat benefit in pretty much every situation, so I can fall back onto my tool box in a particularly tough fight.
After getting my initial list, I decided to pick a combat style to focus in (since I too, didn't feel like a MoMS dip), locked in Pummeling Style / Charge, and then shortlisted a few combat maneuvers to spec in, picking up Improved Trip, Reposition, and Grapple, and then call it a day. This means that my feat outline is smaller than yours.
Remember that Martial Flexibility translates to Swift ---> Free ---> Immediate as you level up, so I am fairly happy with how my action economy is. In a standard combat, all my feats are essentially "doing something", with Improved Init, Toughness, and Iron Will, if I want to diversify then I have the "Improved Trip/Grapple/Reposition" line to hit back on, and if I really want to specialise (say if I have a boss thats really trip weak), then I can trigger Flexibility to gain Greater Trip, Fury Fall, and then either Felling Smash or Pummeling Bully, with the order of those depending on how many levels I have, and the type of action I want to burn.
That said, you can build your Brawler however you like, I'm just telling you what is currently working for me.
(You also might be further in than I am, as I am only Level 4)
tl;dr: If it was me, I could accent my flexibility when selecting my feats, relying on Martial Flexibility to 'upgrade' on the fly against a difficult opponent, rather than using it to pick up feats temporarily, that I plan on picking up permanently later on.
I hope that helps!