It's really not even a difficult guess.
The Akatsuki carried Naruto during its most successful period.
Apart from a few characters (Katakuri, Ace, Whitebeard, Blackbeard, Shanks) the Yonko related characters aren't that popular, aren't that important and frankly are barely touched on. It's also arguable that the last two arcs which heavily focused on the Yonko have been some of the lower end for the series.
The Sternritter were... Not the right pick for this. Replace them with the Espada, then the Bleach villains would be more iconic (and better) than the Yonko as a group. The Sternritter were too numerous to get any real development besides about 4 of them. Great potential and I love their initial impact in Bleach, but sure as Hell aren't on the level of either groups.
Akatsuki >> Shichibukai ~ Espada >> Yonko >> Sternritter
Is how I'd rank them
The Akatsuki carried Naruto during its most successful period.
Apart from a few characters (Katakuri, Ace, Whitebeard, Blackbeard, Shanks) the Yonko related characters aren't that popular, aren't that important and frankly are barely touched on. It's also arguable that the last two arcs which heavily focused on the Yonko have been some of the lower end for the series.
The Sternritter were... Not the right pick for this. Replace them with the Espada, then the Bleach villains would be more iconic (and better) than the Yonko as a group. The Sternritter were too numerous to get any real development besides about 4 of them. Great potential and I love their initial impact in Bleach, but sure as Hell aren't on the level of either groups.
Akatsuki >> Shichibukai ~ Espada >> Yonko >> Sternritter
Is how I'd rank them
