I have the following derailleurs in my parts box. Will any of them work with the new 36T cassettes?

XTR 9-sp M952
XTR 9-sp M971
XT 9-sp M770

I know that Shimano says that 34T is max, but what is the reality in the real (money limited) world?

Thanks in advance for your help.

There is literally no way to know other than to try them. There's enough variation in distance/angle from center of axle to center of derailleur mount to make a difference of a few teeth compatibility. I've had mtb derailleurs bump a 34t cog. We've got the 29ers in our shop with 36t cogs equipped with new Shimano mtb derailleurs and they don't hit the cog. Again, try and see.

I posted the same question a while back. Are you talking about the new shimano SLX 36 tooth cassette in the 9 speed? I think one of the solutions was to get a longer b limit screw to get the cog away fro the 36 gear. I think it would really max out the springs, let us know how it works out.