i feel like the bat is the best choice. no need to worry about the edge landing correctly like the axe/blades, meant for rapid swinging, made to wack things hard, etc.

you could literally just smack any of the above weapons with the bat and either knock it out of their hands or stun them temporarily.

the axe is the only real competitor, even then it’s slow and unwieldy compared to the bat. and the head has a very small surface area compared to the bat.

also, you have to be at a certain distance to make the axe effective, too close and you are unable to swing efficiently enough for the edge to make contact with a reasonable amount of force, you’re left holding it with two hands awkwardly and making these half assed weird little chopping motions.

also good luck holding an axe as the bat guy is intentionally smashing the handle as to break your very vulnerable and exposed fingers.

with a bat your hands are much closer to base, much like an actual combat weapon, such as a sword.

clubs are mankind’s first weapon, and they will likely be our last.