VtD or Sentinel could get you an initial clear of Variant 2, Sentinel could also do that in Variant 3. For your consideration. I hear clear is a solid choice, even for R5. But perhaps later on...?
By the eight, I hate these new rankup icons. As for your dilemma OP, I'd say Quake (if you can utilize her playstyle) and Claire are solid rankups, both of them. Personally I'd do Claire due to a simpler playstyle.