It is a nonsensical question to ask whether Haaji Imdadullah is better or his scholarly disciples like Nanautawī, Gangohī, Thānwī and Shaykh al-Hind are more virtuous. The elite sage is always at the top even if he is not a "riwāyatī molvī". The elites recognise elites. Go and read the biography of Dr. ‘Aarifī, authored by his scholarly disciple Muftī Muhammad Rafī Usmānī. I should tell you, Dr. ‘Aarifī was not a graduate of Deoband but of the MAO College in Aligarh and the University of Lucknow. He served as the president of DU Karachi for ten years. Despite not being a "riwāyatī molvī", his "Ahkām-i Mayyit", is an authoritative work in jurisprudence, and widely recognised.