I honestly find Ayane to be the most overrated character in this series. I don't see anything appealing about her design (the purple hair does nothing for me) and none of her moves look appealing to me either. I don't dislike her, but just don't get her love at all. I can understand why the rest of the cast have the fanbases they do but Ayane, it just never clicked with me. Especially at the extremely high level she receives it. As for her cliffhanger, her throw one looked better to me than the one where she punched at the opponent or used magic or w/e it was.
You are entitled to your opinion, as everyone else is. However, as far as her style of play goes, she's definitely not easy to pick up for anyone not used to how she is supposed to be played. Simply because she is played very differently than other characters in this game. Her BT stance and options are both part of her play style (which already makes her unique in comparison to the rest of the cast). She's never been a terrible character in the past, nor do I believe she will be in this iteration of the game.
And as for why she's so iconic in this series (aside from her having purple hair), well at least from my own personal point of view, it's her character background. A child born from rape, is looked down upon by everyone, with only one person making her feel like she's actually a person (Hayate). Finding out who her family really is and why she was ignored for so long, and having to prove to everyone that she's worth something. Overcoming so much to become a prodigy kunoichi and practically the most powerful ninja of Hajin Mon Sect to date.
Stuff like this is seen quite often in anime, in different ways, and is the very reason why different characters are very well liked as well.
Not trying to change your opinion about this character or anything, just giving my two cents.