I use a MOTU MK3 Ultralight to get midi out of the laptop into the midi in of the AXE.
Interestingly, I also use Ableton, MOTU Ultralite and MFC. I don't have any problems but I did take a few of important precautions.
First, I NEVER EVER create or edit MIDI clips containing data sent to Axe in Ableton itself. It has a horrendously inadequate UI for this. You have to draw lines and points using mouse, and this leads to lines that aren't purely horizontal, but have some small inclination. As a consequence, it creates a continuous stream of MIDI messages that chokes and confuses Axe FX even without MFC. So, while I use Ableton, the MIDI clips with commands are created elsewhere (in my case, it's Reaper). I have a library of such command clips that I just import into my tracks.
Second, I separate different commands in different tracks. I have one for scene changes, one for looper control, and so on. This allows me to use Ableton's Track Delay feature - I just shift each type of commands a few milliseconds so that they never overlap or happen simultaneously. The looper control (or sequencer control), messages that have to come exactly with the rhythm, aren't delayed, scene changes have a slight negative delay so they happen a bit in advance, some less important messages may be a bit late. All these delays aren't really audible but the do help tremendously.
Last, I don't really use my MFC with this setup, it's sitting there for backup just in case, except for expression pedals.