I remember disappointed with the (lack of) fluid frame animations in the PSX fighters, I remember it was a big complaint at the time, and mentioned in several fan magazines
IIRC it was because the sprites had to be mapped onto polygons, and some frames had to be dropped to keep the game going at a reasonable speed, or the PSX would choke... I never tried the Saturn versions, though I wouldn't be surprised if they were superior, the Saturn just struck me as a 2D powerhouse... my opinion of course, yours may vary.
In ePSXe, there's a way you can disable accurate CD-ROM timing (if you're running an image from the HD). I think I did it with Pete's CD-R plug-in. It can break compatibility with some titles though.