Was this in a cutscene or gameplay? Because that seems kinds like game mechanics from the way youre describing it...
Gameplay, both Urizen and Vergil
You can say that Urizen wasn't serious in their first fight, but SDT Vergil was going all out, yet Base Royalguard can block without any trouble
It isn't gameplay mech, this style was shown to be capable of blocking attacks from people comparable, stronger or capable of one shoting Dante many times in DMC3 and DMC5, it was the case against Temen Ni Gru guardians (before Dante unlocked his DT), against Vergil (Base Dante can block both Vergil and DT Vergil, the later can one shot him since it is the difference in AP that DT gives to the user), Arkham (Base Dante can block his attacks, and Arkham is capable of fighting both Dante and Vergil at the same time), Urizen (one shoted DT Dante, but Royalguard can block him), and DMC5 Vergil (Base, DT or SDT, and SDT is even stronger than normal Devil Trigger), only DMC4 is out but the strongest being in that game is 7-B while Dante is 3-A so...
As for the other thing no, theyre not clones, theyre afterimages and they function like afterimages, they just have substance to them so that if you try to strike one it will feel like you actually hit someone rather than your attack just passing through [For example, Nui stabbed one of Ryuko's afterimages through the neck and it not only bled but persisted for several seconds before vanishing], and it is able to trick people who are equal to Ryuko in speed.
Got it, thanks
Base Dante is equal to Ryuko in speed, DT Dante will be faster than her since DT also makes him faster
I dunno if her Reactive Evolution also makes her faster
If he doesnt lead with Time Stop or royalguard right off the bat he's going to be in serious trouble
He leads with Royalguard, no doubt about that, aswell as Trickster, and DT is very in character against comparable opponents
However, Time Hax in general, since it's a game, is more related to necessity, you'll won't see Dante using Time Hax because "lol it's cool" except the main versions who had those abilities, DMC3 will use Quicksilver in character, DMC1 will use Time Stop in character, DMC2 will use Time Stop (Chrono Heart) in character, DMC5 will use Time Slow in character (in SDT)
However, Anime Dante (the one used here) and DMC4 Dante will only use if they have to, which leads us to a case by case scenario, does he needs here ? The answer is yes, going by your description about Ryuko's afterimage, and by using it, those afterimages would be useless, same goes with Doppelganger, if he will need to cover more ground, it's a option, and let's not forget that Trickster and Royalguard would be working all the times. He also have some range options with some DAs, but he really don't carry them without some prep time, since he sold them all to Enzo's shop and only purchases them for specific jobs, the only DA that he carries is Cerberus apparently, since he stated in a novel that fire is a very common power for demons, while summoning Cerberus, hinting that he carries with him all the times, so no Agni & Rudra to create big fire tornados or Nevan to cover the field with lightning, they would be good options, but completely out of his character
What makes this a really hard fight is Ryuko's regen, to be honest. The fight will start, Dante will use Swords and Guns while Ryuko apparently goes with Afterimages, Dante will use DT seeing that his enemy is comparable to him in AP, and then gain a upgrade for AP and speed, but it's not enough against Ryuko's afterimages and he's getting some trouble, so he uses Time Hax and kills her, she regenerates stronger than before, Dante would just need the same strategy to that he used first, but will use Sealing since he saw that he can't kill her with normal attacks. His Sealing also sends the target to the Demon World. While this strategy can take some time, since it goes from realizing he will need Time Hax to using Sealing to fight her Regen, we have some factors to say that Dante wins here, because it could be a Inconclusive scenario
First, he doesn't really need to see the full extension of her regenartion to realize he will need sealing, a sword fight between them might show to both some examples of their regen, seeing her regenerate from stabs and amputations can be enough to make Dante go with Sealing
Second, he can stand a fight against her without Time Hax (he's going to use, however it can take some time, not that long, but still), thanks to his strong defense and teleportation, Royalguard can block her attacks and redirect them to her, blocking her attacks also restores energy which can be used to heal Dante during the battle. Teleportation is important and backed up by Enhanced Senses and his greater speed by himself during DT (Also, since here we are on the first stage of the fight, Ryuko didn't had any power ups, since Dante didn't "killed" her yet, so in DT, he is faster than her, after this stage, things will change, but I'll get there). So merely surviving her afterimages are not going to be a super problem, and for now they are comparable in AP, so getting hit doesn't mean K.O, and Dante's Mid regen is also going to be useful since it can heal him even against brain damage, so Ryuko will need to cut him into pieces, which is unlikely with all of those advantages and factors that I said
So my vote is Dante since he can survive against Ryuko for a extended period, thanks to Royalguard, Teleportation, Enhanced senses, higher speed in DT and Insta Mid Regen, bypass her completly with Time Hax and negate her Regen with Sealing or BFR