First of all, Ivy's not unsafe (not as unsafe as NM at least). If you're saying 22_88[ B ] is unsafe, its not a move that's meant to be thrown out randomly in the first place. It's really a whiff/crouch punish.
That aside, you're pretty much spot on, no lie. Astaroth has a better throw mixup, Pyrrha has a better poking game, NM has just as much range, Mitsu has a better ouki game and aside from Viola, everyone does just as much or more damage than her outside of her throws.
Soo, why use her? Because she has all the tools in the game that no other character has within him/her/itself.
Astaroth might beat her in grabs, but Ivy beats him in frames, speed and has just as much range.
Pyrrha beats her in poking, but she has a better grab game and range.
You see where I'm getting at here? I don't want to throw out the phrase "jack of all trades, master of none" since its a negative connotation, but that's pretty much the simplest way to put it. She is still very much a versatile character who is simply more dependent on how many variations the player can use her rather than having multiple stances (which honestly, I do also miss).
Don't get me wrong, she's definitely not top tier. As many people have indicated, you have to work for her wins. Her tools just makes her still worth using, at least in my eyes.
