Receiving early - lower spin on ball?

I've heard that the reason why pros like to receive the serves early just after the bounce when the ball is risi is because, supposedly, after the ball kicks off the table, there is less spin on it - as if some of the spin was transformed into the vector kick effect before developing fully (and of course ultimately slowing down once again in the final stages of the trajectory).

Is there any substance to this?

1) you give less time to your opponent

2) you can return the serve short. If you wait longer you lose this option. The bounce after your return will be roughly the same distance or longer on the  opposing side, compared to where you hit it. So to return short you must hit early.

3) Some balls are just naturally easier to return on the rise vs when it is dropping.

Exactly.  In reality, the ball loses spin over time as a result of friction between the rotsting ball surface and the air.

Serve returns are a relative weakness for everyone - with experience reading spin and especially with deliberate practice with good players and coaches, it gets better.  The most important thing is to develop technical strokes for returning serves and not just touch or stab at the ball.  When you develop a technical stroke (even if it is an unconventional one, like a sideswipe) and repeatedly use it, noticing the errors you make on different kinds of balls lets you know what was likely on the ball.  Using strokes that you don't practice will often leave you lost as to what adjustments you may need to make when you miss.