Hector Vs. Ephraim

I'd say that they cover different roles, L!Hector can prevent enemies from doubling him thanks to Thunder armads while B!Ephraim will get doubled but he will always double if he receives any sort of buff

Yes, she's salvageable.

As far as the best armored axe unit, that really depends. The roles they fulfill are similar, but the way they fulfill said roles are fairly different.

I agree with Yezzo, L.Hector just plays differently because he'll block your double for free, whereas Ephraim tends to go "just double me you don't get to use your special and my defenses are solid." Ephraim will fire back bigger specials because he gets so insanely many charges. So I think Ephraim is the more aggressive pick, and Hector is the more conservative option.

B.Celica -atk is still very usable with death blow 4, but you will probably want to keep death blow 4. She has, what is it, 54 atk when initiating? That will still do a lot of damage. And she's really fast.

With armour buffs, B!Ephraim wins, but on a mixed team, L!Hector's the way to go. I feel like it's as simple as that. On a mixed team, L!Hector can still hold his own with his unique ability, even without armour buffs. However, WITH Armour buffs, L!Ephraim honestly has the leg up with his unique ability and very solid, balanced stats.

L!Hector can run Wary Fighter "Infinity"/Vengeful Fighter 3(or Bold Fighter and Quick Riposte, but kind of seems unnecessary), while B!Ephraim can run Guard 6/Bold Fighter 3/Vengeful Fighter 3. That's really what it comes down to.

And as for -Atk Brave Celica, while she is technically still salvageable, I'd still strongly recommend foddering her off for DB4 or at least trying to get her again with better ivs, as DB4 is a strongly coveted skill and -Atk is definitely one of the more painful banes for B!Celica to have.

I'd say that Ephraim is about tied with Legendary Hector for the best. They serve different roles.

Special Fighter and Garm is absurdly powerful, Hector's stats are better and his weapon's effect is unreal.

Hector seems better defensively, and Ephraim seems better in the player phase.