Being a Neil fan, I started watching this show only for him. I found Ayesha ok - didn't find her particularly good but definitely not bad. Until I saw her acting during KJ's death. Some people may find her not very subtle in that scene - but what impressed me was that as a viewer, I felt like she was undergoing all that emotion. It was not an actor acting, but Sai grieving over the loss of her beloved father - there was so much heart in that portrayal.
Since then, I began to take notice. What I found was she was exemplary in emotional scenes - be it remembering her father or in her fights scenes with Virat. She still has some raw edges - dialogue delivery and during certain family confrontation scenes when she has to make a thunderous statement. But there is no mistake that she is raw, natural talent. Kudos to the casting director for recognising her talent.
Neil is more rounded - after all he has been in the industry for so long. Neil's forte is definitely his subtle expressions. Not many would agree, but in emotional scenes, I find Ayesha a notch higher than Neil. Her acting is these scenes has a lot of soul - which is very very rare.