To be noted that for some content, running Heph is fine over Dakki. Dakki is certainly good, but -50% Def straight off the bat is great as well.It's either that or Shingen Lance, yup. Or a support weapon for Ragna raids (Joan/Andromeda), but I'm not sure if you're quite strong enough to play a support role either.Hercules is still an amazing powerhouse, so yes.
As for Ares, hard to say. She certainly gets stronger after her Awakening, but on the grand scheme of things for Awakenings, it's not that impressive. Still, she IS your carry right now. So once you have all the required mats (200k Gems, plenty of books) on hand and nothing better to do, I guess?