WB uses a pole arm. 'Swords' is a generalized term for all the great blade weapons which includes spears.
WB was the strongest in the world. Mihawk is the strongest swordsman.
It's not semantics. You say Shanks can have abilities outside of swordsmanship, something that was never a factor according to Zoro's battles themselves. Fire, spinning tops, Foot knives, unicycles, kicking the air, zoan fruits, poison, hardening your body like iron, gravity, teleportation, cloud dials..none of them mattered to Zoro himself and the guys who used them were still swordsman. How come it matters when Shanks comes into play?
How is a swordsman stronger than the strongest swordsman? Did Zoro win his battles with skill alone? Can you explain Ryuma vs Brooke and Zoro? There's so much....