The N2 is always stronger than the N3
Oda confirmed who are the N2s of the main crews and groups
And confirmed that the N2 is related to strength and nothing else: no second to join, no second highest bounty, merely the second strongest
So Rayleigh > Gaban, Zoro > Sanji, Sabo > Ivankov, King > Queen, Benn > Lucky Roux, Katakuri > Cracker etc
Nothing can change this
There can be a debate about how big is the gap in strength, but it's not debatable that there is a gap big enough to have a clear N2 and a clear N3