Choosing the best British dreadnought before Orion

Which early British dreadnought would be the best substitute for HMS Dreadnought?

St Vincent is the strongest direct choice; Hercules is the more characterful alternative because of its armor scheme.

Simply renaming a near-Dreadnought successor would produce Dreadnought with incremental changes. St Vincent is judged the best of the early British dreadnoughts. Hercules is the more distinctive option, with a notably good armor arrangement despite an unattractive gun layout. Armor, turret arrangement, and a ship's individual character can therefore produce different answers to an apparently simple best-ship question.